Man Pleads Guilty For Crashing Stolen Car Into Cop While High: DA

WEST BABYLON, NY - A West Babylon pleaded guilty on Tuesday to crashing into a Suffolk Police car and seriously injured a snow storm in March, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini.

Louis Mancini, Jr., 30, was charged with first degree assault, driving while ability impaired by drugs, and second degree unlawful fleeing of a police officer in a motor vehicle, the DA said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced by Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho on Nov. 1, where he is expected to get 10 years in prison followed by 5 years of post-release supervision.

"The reckless actions of Mancini Jr. endangered the lives of motorists and seriously injured a Suffolk County Police officer," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said. "The officer continues to heal and has not been able to return to work due to his injuries. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the risks that officers of the SCPD undertake each day to protect our communities."

On March 13, Mancini stole a 2013 GMC Yukon that had been left running and unoccupied outside of Frank’s Delicatessen on 1018 Little East Neck Road in West Babylon, according to the DA.

He was driving at a high rate of speed northbound on Straight Path in West Babylon when he lost control of the vehicle and crossed into the southbound lane, the DA said.

Mancini crashed head-on into an occupied marked police car that was responding to the 911 call placed by an employee of the deli to report the stolen vehicle, according to Sini.

The officer was extricated from the vehicle and transported by the North Babylon Fire Department to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, Sini said.

The officer suffered multiple fractures to his left leg and pelvis that required surgery, the DA said.

A blood test revealed that Mancini, who was driving with a suspended driver's license, had fentanyl and Clonazepam, a sedative, in his system at the time of the crash, according to the DA.

"[Mancini] tried to evade law enforcement, driving recklessly while under the influence of drugs and putting lives at risk in what were already dangerous road conditions," Sini said. "Because of his actions, a Suffolk County Police officer was injured while doing his duties to protect our roadways."

Photo courtesy of the SCDA