Police: Teen tries to steal car with man sleeping in backseat

A Uniondale teen who tried to steal a car early Thursday morning was thwarted in his attempt by a man who had been sleeping in the backseat, Nassau County police said.

Police said Jordan Jackson, 17, got into a 2006 Infiniti sedan that was parked and running on Fullerton Avenue in Uniondale and tried to drive away just before 5 a.m. Thursday. But a man who was sleeping in the backseat of the car, which belongs to a relative, awoke and tried to wrest control of the car from Jackson, police said.

The two struggled as Jackson drove the stolen car recklessly south on Fullerton Avenue and struck an occupied 2007 BMW, then hurtled the Infiniti onto a front lawn, eventually crashing into a chain-link fence, police said.

The 32-year-old victim, who police said sustained substantial shoulder pain, was able to hold Jackson at the scene until police arrived. The victim refused medical attention, police said, and no other injuries were reported.

Jackson, of 531 Linwood St., is charged with two counts of second-degree robbery, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, two counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief, and second-degree reckless endangerment. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at First District Court in Hempstead.