Suffolk County Police arrested a man for driving while ability impaired by drugs after he fled from a police officer in a motor vehicle in Shirley.

 

A Seventh Precinct patrol officer observed Thomas Celeste driving a 2002 Ford van erratically on Montauk Highway, west of William Floyd Parkway, at approximately 12:15 a.m. When the officer initiated a traffic stop, the driver fled. Police tracked the van with aviation. A patrol officer used stop sticks to disable the vehicle at Route 112 and Horseblock Road in Medford. Celeste continued southbound on William Floyd Parkway from the Long Island Expressway, where the van came to a stop, and officers arrested him at approximately 1:40 a.m.

 

Celeste, 50, of Mastic, was charged with Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle 1st Degree, Reckless Driving, and Unlawfully Fleeing an Officer in a Motor Vehicle.

 

Celeste was arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip.

 

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.