WESTBURY, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Another high-end vehicle was stolen from a driver at a gas station in Nassau County on Sunday afternon in what is becoming an epidemic of thefts in the county.
A 43-year-old man was fueling up his 2022 Mercedes-Benz at the Shell gas station on Carman Avenue in Westbury around 8:50 a.m. when a thief in a gray mask targeted the vehicle, Nassau County Police said Monday.
The suspect exited the passenger side of a gray Audi and entered the victim's Mercedes.
The car thief hit the gas, breaking the gas hose and fleeing the station with the pump nozzle still attached to the Mercedes, police said.
The driver of the Audi also fled the gas station. Both vehicles took off southbound on Carman Avenue.
The thief in the Mercedes got into a crash with another vehicle about 1.5 miles away at Carman Avenue and Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow.
A 55-year-old man driving the other vehicle was not injured, police said.
The stolen Mercedes was later found abandoned at Park Boulevard and Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow.
Police haven't yet released any images of the suspect.
There has been a spate of similar car thefts and carjackings in Nassau County in recent weeks.
A thief took off in a woman's Range Rover after sneaking into the vehicle at a gas station in Mineola on Jan. 2, 2023.Nassau County Police
Just last Monday, a car thief threw a dog from a moving Range Rover as he stole the vehicle from a BP gas station on Jericho Turnpike in Mineola. The dog managed to survive the ordeal.
Surveillance video from that theft shows the suspect sneaking into the driver's seat as a woman pumps gas just feet away, unaware of what's about to happen. She was not injured as he sped off.
Several weeks before that on Dec. 13, a woman was dragged as a thief tried to steal her Range Rover at a 76 gas station on Glen Cove Road in Glen Head. The victim was not seriously hurt.
It's very common for people to leave their car running as they pump gas in the area, but drivers said Monday that they'll probably turn off their vehicles while getting gas in the future.
Police said thieves have been targeting high-end vehicles on Long Island to be used in other crimes or even for racing. The thieves sometimes loan out the vehicles for money to other crooks, who use them to commit crimes like robbery. Many of the vehicles turn up in New Jersey, including the Range Rover in the theft that injured the dog.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-244-TIPS.
