Explosive Police Chase After Pilgrim State Worker Bolts with Suspicious Bag

An off-duty, part-time employee of the Pilgrim State Psychiatric Hospital, showed up to work Sunday with wires sticking out of a backpack. The Hospital alerted police, who were led on a car chase through Commack, which ended in a crash that injured three people.

Suffolk County Police received a call shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday that an employee, who was not scheduled to work, arrived at the Hospital and left a bag with wires sticking out if it inside of the building. 

Police said the man returned to the hospital to grab the bag and brought it to his car. Police arrived as the man was inside of his vehicle, however, when the officer approached the car and asked the man to step outside, the driver stepped on the gas, forcing the officer to jump out of the way. The man struck the police vehicle, causing minor damage and the continued driving north down Commack Road, sending officers on a chase. The officer was not injured, police said.

The chase ended near Henry Street, when the man crashed into two other vehicles, injuring three people, police said. His car ended up near Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on Commack Road.

Officers X-rayed the bag and broke it apart using a high-powered shot of water. Police determined it did not contain an explosive device.

Police said the man, who was being chased, had minor injuries and was sent to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip. As of Monday morning, no charges have been filed as of Monday morning.