BETHPAGE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) – A 70-year-old homeowner was tased by officers on Long Island after he attacked a firefighter responding to a crash in which a teen driver slammed into his house, Nassau County police said.
The confrontation happened around 3:20 p.m. Sunday in Bethpage, where a 16-year-old boy lost control of a 2024 black BMW and crashed into a corner house on North Windhorst Avenue.
The teen driver and his two passengers—boys, ages 16 and 17—were not injured in the crash.
But as the Bethpage Fire Department were responding to the scene, police said Salvatore Conte “became irate and began pushing” a 52-year-old firefighter who had entered his damaged home.
Officers tried to arrest Conte, but he allegedly resisted, and they ultimately used a Taser to subdue him, according to police.
The firefighter suffered an injury to his hip and was taken to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Conte was charged with assault, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, police said.
His wife declined to comment, as did the firefighter.
One neighbor said she felt what happened to her neighbor was unfair. "I wouldn't let anybody in my house that wasn't dressed appropriately and didn't identify themselves," she said. "I imagine that's what it was."
"We are all upset about it," she added. "Basically, it was somebody who was joyriding that caused the whole thing."
Another neighbor said the teen driver left skid marks all down the street and was likely speeding at the time.
"It sounded like something exploded," she said of the crash. "It sounded like a car screeching down the whole block—he had to be going 80 to 100 mph."
"If he would've hit us, he would've killed us," she said.