Brrr! Bronx Man Tries To Elude Westchester PD By Lying Down In Stream

YONKERS, NY — Westchester County Police say a suspect from the Bronx took extreme measures to avoid arrest, but he might have been better off just staying warm and dry.

The 22-year-old suspect found out the hard way that it just doesn’t pay to run from the WCPD, according to officials. Police said Angel Santana of the Bronx not only ended up getting hurt after he crashed while trying to flee, he also ended up with a few more criminal charges than he was initially facing.

Shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Pleasantville police reported that an SUV that they had tried to stop for a traffic violation had fled on Route 117. The SUV, described as a white Land Rover with a temporary tag from out-of-state, was last seen near Pace University in Mount Pleasant.

A short time later, a Westchester County police officer spotted a white Land Rover with a temporary Georgia tag traveling southbound on the Sprain Brook Parkway near Jackson Avenue in Yonkers. The officer attempted to stop the Land Rover, but the driver refused to stop, according to police. The SUV continued south to the Bronx River parkway and exited onto the westbound Cross County Parkway, at one point striking a concrete divider on the exit ramp.

The Land Rover, which had suffered two flat tires, then crashed into the center median near Yonkers Avenue. The driver jumped out and ran off into an adjacent wooded area, where he tried to hide by lying down in a stream, police said.

An extremely cold and wet Santana was soon taken into custody. He complained of leg and rib pain from the crash and was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.

Santana was charged with fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, reckless driving and criminal possession of stolen property 4th degree. The stolen property charge accuses him of possessing items of mail, including checks, apparently stolen in New Castle and Pleasantville, possibly from USPS mailboxes.