Police

Cops: Man on drugs led police on chase with infant in the car

A 22-year-old Riverhead man was arrested Friday for driving drunk while high on drugs with his 3-year-old son in his SUV — and for assaulting a police officer — after leading Southampton cops on a car chase through Riverside and Flanders, officials said.

The toddler was found uninjured after police finally arrested Tyshawn Riddick shortly before 9:30 a.m., but the officer, Patrick Kiernan, suffered several injuries and was being treated at Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition Saturday.

Officers first tried to stop Mr. Riddick’s 1999 Dodge Durango on Ludlam Avenue in Riverside after observing several traffic infractions.

Southampton police gave this account of what followed:

When approached by officers, Mr. Riddick fled, driving recklessly through residential areas at an unsafe speed, passing stop signs without stopping and speeding through a red light at Routes 24 and 105, causing several vehicles to veer, screech to a halt to avoid crashing.

Officers in a marked unit with its emergency lights and sirens wailing then followed the SUV to Brookhaven Avenue in Flanders, where Mr. Riddick stopped the truck, put it in reverse and rammed the front end of the police car as an officer was exiting it.

He then fled on foot, leading police on a chase through the surrounding neighborhoods until he was apprehended near Oak Avenue and Arthur Avenue shortly before 9:30 a.m.

Police also found the child, who was taken to PBMC for observation and subsequently released without any injuries.

Mr. Riddick was charged with driving under the influence of drugs with a baby in the car and with a suspended license.

Charges also include two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, class D felonies; aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child in the vehicle; now a felony under Leandra’s Law, driving while ability impaired by drugs; second-degree assault, a class D felony; and second-degree obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor.

He was also charged with a misdemeanor of endangering the welfare of a child; third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle; reckless driving; third-degree unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle; two counts of unlawful possession of marijuana and multiple vehicle and traffic violations.

Police notified Child Protective Services after identifying the baby as Mr. Riddick’s son.

Mr. Riddick was held overnight and arraigned in Southampton Justice Court. He was being held at the Suffolk County Jail on $30,000 bail.