Driver Who Fled LIE Traffic Stop, Crashed Car 'At Large': Sheriff

MEDFORD, NY — A search is on for the driver of a car that contained a stash of drugs and fled from a traffic stop on the Long Island Expressway before crashing into a telephone pole on a nearby street, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon's office said.

Deputies were traveling westbound on the Long Island Expressway, east of exit 67 in a marked unit just before 4 p.m., when they saw a 2020 Mazda with Georgia license plates traveling at a high rate of speed and two males inside, according to Toulon's office.

Deputies stopped the Mazda, and while approaching, it sped away, and then left the LIE at Exit 65 before crashing into a telephone pole at the corner of Falcon Avenue in Medford, his office said, adding that the front seat passenger, Edward Smith, 20, of Yaphank, ran away and was caught a short distance away, but the driver is still "at large."

The deputies found drugs, including over three grams each of fentanyl and heroin, as well as over six grams of crack cocaine, 14 suboxone pills, "a small quantity" of marijuana, a stun gun, and $3,240 "in the [Mazda] and on the scene," Toulon's office said.

Smith was charged with three counts of third-degree possession of a controlled substance and one count of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance, said Toulon's office, adding that the Mazda has been impounded and an investigation is ongoing.

In a statement, Toulon commended his deputies.

“Suffolk County deputy sheriffs are patrolling our county’s roads day and night to keep the public safe," he said. "A seemingly straightforward traffic stop for speeding can turn into a dangerous situation for the deputies and the public when the driver attempts to flee. In this case, thankfully, no one was seriously injured and deputies took dangerous drugs off the streets. I thank my deputies for their hard work.”