Fatally wounded man in Hempstead crashes car into school fence, injuring 3 boys, authorities say

A man driving in Hempstead Village was fatally wounded by gunfire and crashed into bleachers on a middle school sports field, injuring three boys, authorities said Wednesday.

Jonathan Wade, 55, a local resident, was shot Tuesday night in front of 81 Albemarle Ave., the same area where he had been outside threatening people with a shotgun Monday, Nassau and Hempstead Village police said.

Nassau detectives are investigating both cases and have not determined if Wade's death is connected to Monday's incident.

Wade and his mother are known locally because she owns several properties, including 81 and 83 Albemarle Ave.

On Tuesday, Wade was driving west past 81 Abermarle about 6 p.m. when he "witnessed a disturbance" and called 911, Nassau police said.

As he circled back, Wade was shot and he sped away to nearby Henry Street, where he crashed into a chain-link fence surrounding Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School, Nassau police said.

His Lexus then slammed into metal bleachers, and the boys, ages 4, 8 and 12, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said. They were treated at a hospital. The 4-year-old boy who was standing in front of the bleachers sustained a broken leg, authorities said.

Wade was pronounced dead shortly after 8 p.m. at a hospital, police said. His mother could not be reached.

Police did not release details on the disturbance Wade saw.

He had been arrested Monday night outside 83 Albemarle Ave., where he had been seen pointing a shotgun at people, Hempstead Village Police Chief Michael McGowan said.

Wade had turned off his car lights and fired two shots from the passenger side into a crowd where his intended target stood, court documents said.

Police are looking into whether Wade made threats Monday in reaction to a confrontation that his mother had with a man.

A neighbor who declined to be named said Wade pumped his shotgun twice and shouted a curse, forcing people to scatter.

The neighbor said she clambered over a chain-link fence to safety, while her son was shielded from possible gunfire by her mother's body.

Wade returned a second time with a handgun, the neighbor said, but the third time, police were there to arrest him.

He was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony, and two misdemeanors, discharging a gun in a vehicle and criminal possession of a gun. His bail was set at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.

On Tuesday, the neighbor said, she heard Wade threaten someone outside her home, and 10 minutes later, gunfire erupted.

Detectives ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS.

With John Asbury