Crime & Safety
Cops: Fugitive Driver Surrenders
The Hampton Bays man accused of crashing his truck in North Sea and fleeing the scene turned himself in last week.
The unlicensed driver who fled the scene of a North Sea car crash last week that injured a passenger, toppled a tree and totaled the truck he was driving turned himself in to authorities three days later, police said.
arrested Benjamin Walker, 34, of Hampton Bays, who was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident causing bodily injury after he appeared with legal counsel at police headquarters April 19 in Hampton Bays to answer charges.
The arrest stemmed from a at about 6 p.m. on Millstone Brook Road in North Sea. Police said Walker had lost his license due to a previous DWI conviction.
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After Walker fled the scene of the accident, in which the truck flipped over and caused a tree to uproot and fall to the ground, police enlisted a New York State K-9 unit as well as a Suffolk police helicopter which was overheard by neighbors in the West Neck area of North Sea. At the time of the incident and subsequent search, Walker was not located.
Second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle is a misdemeanor carrying a possible sentence of up to 180 days in jail or probation, and/or a fine of at least $500. Leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident without reporting when physical injury is involved is a class-B misdemeanor.
