Long Island Police Officer Injured In Collision With Racing Car

A Lynbrook police officer was injured after a group of cars came speeding through the village early Friday morning, officials said.

According to Lynbrook officials, around 1:50 a.m. Friday, Nassau County police said there was a group of five or six luxury cars racing out of Long Beach at up to 140 miles per hour. The NCPD tried to stop the cars, but were unable to keep up with them.

The NCPD notified areas north of Long Beach that the cars were approaching and followed them at a safe distance.

The cars raced through Lynbrook along Sunrise Highway and came to a Lynbook Police Department vehicle that was traveling at normal speeds, Lynbrook officials said. One of the cars, a white BMW I8, worth around $136,000, tried to swerve around the LPD car, but the driver — Bryant Veal, 20, of Newark, New Jersey — lost control. Veal slammed into the passenger-side door of the LPD car, officials said, severely damaging the car and injuring the officer who was driving.

The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment and released, and is now at home recovering from his injuries, Lynbrook officials said.

Veal was arrested at the scene. He is charged with second-degree assault, second-degree criminal mischief, second-degree reckless endangerment, fleeing from police, reckless driving, unlawful possession of marijuana and multiple traffic and vehicle law violations. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 3 in First District Court in Hempstead.