One person is under arrest after a car crashed into a house on Roanoke Avenue near Pulaski Street last night at about 9:15 p.m.
A man who fled from the vehicle was apprehended by a Riverhead police officer who arrived on scene right after the crash.
Ralph Mims, 37, of Riverhead, got into a scuffle with the officer, according to police. Mims was arrested and charged with obstructing governmental administration in the second degree and resisting arrest, police said. Both are class A misdemeanors.
Mims was injured in the crash, which damaged a portion of the two-story wood frame home at 726 Roanoke Avenue, just north of Pulaski Street. He suffered a laceration to the forehead in the accident, according to Riverhead Justice Court records. He was transported by Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he was treated and released. He was then taken to Riverhead Police headquarters for processing.
Police are not sure if Mims was the driver of the car or a passenger. Witnesses at the scene said they saw another subject run from the vehicle, but officers were not able to locate him or her, according to police. Mims did not admit to driving and was not cooperative, police said.
The registered owner of the vehicle involved in the crash is currently incarcerated, police said.
“I heard a very loud bang, very loud. I thought a car had crashed into our own house,” neighbor Juan Diaz said this morning. “It’s very close to the road.” Diaz said he watched a police office chase a man into the street and struggle to subdue him. “It was very scary,” he said.
Mims appeared in Riverhead Justice Court for arraignment this morning wearing a hospital gown, blood-stained sweat pants and one sneaker.
Justice Richard Ehlers set bail at $1,000, which Mims didn’t post. He was ordered to be back in court tomorrow.
The Riverhead Fire Marshal was called to inspect the damage to the home, a two-family dwelling owned by Peter Pekich of West Hempsted, according to town tax records.
The crash remains under investigation, police said.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl.
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