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Victor Natal, of Freeport, was charged with assault after police...

Victor Natal, of Freeport, was charged with assault after police said he fled the scene of an altercation Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Franklin Square. Credit: NCPD

A Freeport man was arrested and charged with assault after police said he fled the scene of a nighttime altercation in Franklin Square, dragging an officer who tried to stop his car “several feet” before crashing into three other vehicles and causing injuries.

Victor Natal, 40, of Wallace Street, fled on foot afterward Saturday night and was apprehended minutes later in the backyard of a home on Monroe Street, Nassau County police said. He was arraigned Sunday in First District Court in Hempstead, charged with four counts of second-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, leaving the scene of an auto accident, resisting arrest, reckless driving and multiple state vehicle and traffic law violations.

He was ordered held on $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash bail, according to court records. Those records indicate Natal has a Legal Aid attorney and is due back in court on Wednesday.

Police said Natal was involved in “a verbal altercation” with another motorist and blocking the roadway on Hempstead Turnpike, when a Fifth Precinct officer approached his 2005 Toyota Camry — and requested he “step out of the vehicle.” Instead, police said, Natal attempted to flee in the car, catching the officer’s jacket sleeve and dragging the officer several feet.

Nassau police did not release the officer’s name.

Natal then crashed his Camry into three other vehicles, injuring the driver and passenger in one of them, before fleeing the scene on foot.

The two victims, whose identities were not released, were taken to a hospital for treatment of what police called “minor injuries.” The officer, who police said suffered knee and elbow injuries when dragged, also was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Additional details were not immediately available.

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