Driver Bolts From Stop, Crashes Into Suffolk Home: Police

FARMINGVILLE, NY — A Suffolk man bolted from a traffic stop and crashed into a home early Sunday, Sheriff Errol Toulon's office said.

Deputy sheriffs saw a Lincoln SUV failing to maintain its lane and driving 75 mph in a 35 mph zone on Ocean Avenue in Farmingville at around 1:40 a.m., and after interviewing the driver, Patrick Coleman, saw his speech was slurred, movements were slow, and unsteady, and he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, according to Toulon's office.

When Coleman was asked to step out of the SUV for additional sobriety testing, he sped away from the scene and quickly lost control, crashing into a house located on nearby Oakcrest Avenue, Toulon's office said.

The house sustained extensive damage, though neither the driver nor anyone in the home was injured, according to Toulon's office.

The Hagerman Fire Department said its members were called out to help Farmingville firefighters with their tech rescue team. It took them about three hours to stabilize the house and move the car, according to a post on Facebook.

Coleman, 32, of Selden was charged with felony driving while intoxicated with one prior offense, second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, third-degree unlawful fleeing, and reckless driving, among other traffic violations.