A suspect has been accused of causing a fatal car crash while fleeing police who were chasing him from the scene of a shooting at a Freeport bar early Saturday morning, Nassau County police said.
Freeport village police chased a Mitsubishi Galant that was speeding while blowing red lights westbound on Atlantic Avenue, but by the time the officer caught up with the car the driver had crashed into a Dodge Intrepid, splitting it in half, police said.
The driver, 28-year-old Lloyd Williams of Hempstead, was apprehended in the backyard of home near the scene at the corner of Pine Street and Guy Lombardo Avenue.
The driver of the Dodge, 24-year-old Chad Whethers of Roosevelt, was pronounced dead at the scene. The 27-year-old man who was his passenger was extricated from the vehicle and taken to a local hospital where he was admitted for treatment of a broken neck.
Police said Williams was fleeing a shooting at Phase Bar on South Bayview Avenue, where he and another man were involved in a fight with a bouncer when the altercation spilled outside.
Witnesses told police one shot was fired. Police said no one was hit by the gunfire.
The bouncer, 41-year-old Larry McCloud of Hempstead, was arrested after police said he picked up a loaded handgun off the ground during the fight and then hid it in his vehicle.
McCloud was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence.
Williams was charged with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, vehicular homicide, assault, vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and driving without a license.
He was arraigned Sunday bedside at a local hospital where he had been admitted for observation.
McCloud was arraigned Sunday at First District Court in Hempstead.
It was not clear what had happened to the second man who was involved in the bar fight.