Arrest Made in Crash That Injured Cop

An Amityville man was arrested Wednesday in connection with that seriously injured an officer in November, Nassau Police said. 

Louie Blanton, 23 of Amityville, was arrested at about 5 p.m. by homicide detectives. Police said that Blanton was the driver of the car being pursued by the officer in the crash near exit 32 in Farmingdale. It left the veteran Seventh Precinct officer with head, neck and shoulder injuries. 

The officer was injured during a pursuit of two suspects that began in North Massapequa.

The officer responded to a neighborhood in the area of North Pine Street on Nov. 21 after a resident called 911. There had been a series of burglaries in the area at the time, and one witness told cops they saw two men switching license plates on their vehicle.

The officer arrived in the neighborhood and followed that vehicle onto the Southern State, where police said the suspicious car began to make dangerous evasive maneuvers.

At one point, the driver slammed on his brakes, causing the officer to swerve and hit a guard rail. The patrol car then bounced back into traffic where it was hit by another car, whose occupants weren't hurt. 

But the female officer, a 19-year member of the department who served with the Seventh Precinct, had to be airlifted to Nassau University Medical Center.

At the time of the arrest police released pictures of the suspicious car. They were taken by a resident of the street where about safety issues. 

Blanton was charged with assault in the second degree fleeing a Police Officer in a motor vehicle in the second degree, reckless endangerment in the second degree, reckless driving and leaving the scene of a serious physical injury incident without reporting