Hauppauge, NY - March 25, 2015 - Suffolk County Police today arrested a woman after she struck a police officer with her car and fled the scene in Hauppauge this afternoon.
Officer Dennis Hendrickson was standing on the shoulder of the Long Island Expressway assisting with traffic control efforts following a crash which closed all westbound traffic lanes, west of exit 56. At approximately 2:10 p.m., a 2012 Volkswagen approached the officer at a high rate of speed. Officer Hendrickson signaled for the driver to slow down but the driver, Theresa Finnin-Hunt, disregarded the officer’s signals. The Volkswagen struck Officer Hendrickson on his right arm and hand as he was attempting to move out of the way. Finnin-Hunt did not stop after striking the officer and continued westbound on the shoulder. She was stopped on the Long Island Expressway North Service Road, near Wicks Road, in Brentwood a short time later.
Finnin-Hunt, 52, of 8th Avenue, Sea Cliff, was arrested and charged with Reckless Endangerment 1st Degree, Driving While Intoxicated, Leaving the Scene of an Accident with Personal Injury, Unlawful Fleeing of a Police Officer Third Degree, and Reckless Driving.
Officer Hendrickson, of the Fourth Precinct Community Support Unit, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Finnin-Hunt will be held at the Fourth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on March 25.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.