Man arrested after stealing fire department emergency vehicle from scene of crash, Suffolk cops say

A New Hampshire man was arrested in Holtsville Saturday evening after he stole a fire department emergency vehicle and drove it away from the scene of a crash he was involved in, Suffolk police said.

Jaime Alexander Brayton, 33, of Hudson, New Hampshire, was traveling west on the Long Island Expressway about 6:30 p.m. when he crashed his vehicle in Yaphank and it became disabled along with multiple other vehicles, Suffolk police said in a news release.

Highway Patrol and Seventh Precinct officers, along with Yaphank Fire Department personnel, responded to the scene.

As authorities closed the expressway to westbound traffic and medical responders treated victims of the crash, Brayton entered the driver’s side of a fire department Chevrolet pickup truck, according to Suffolk police. Police Officer Matthew Corchia reached into the vehicle to stop Brayton, who then drove forward injuring the officer’s arm before fleeing west in the vehicle, police said.

Highway Patrol officers pursued with the assistance of aviation and six minutes later Brayton stopped the vehicle in the HOV lane, west of Exit 62. He was then taken into custody.

Brayton was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital via Holbrook Fire Department ambulance for treatment of minor injuries he suffered in the crash. Officer Corchia was taken to the same hospital and treated for a minor shoulder injury, police said.

Brayton was charged with third-degree grand larceny, second-degree assault and third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle. He is expected to be arraigned after he is released from the hospital.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.