PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (AP) -- A Suffolk County police officer was in critical condition Sunday after a man stabbed him in the leg following a car crash on Long Island, authorities said.
The officer was on patrol in Patchogue when he spotted a Mercedes being driven erratically with its headlights off on South Ocean Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, police said.
The officer tried to pull the Mercedes over, but the Mercedes crashed into a Nissan, police said.
The driver of the Mercedes, identified as Jonathan Nunez, 25, got out of his car and ignored the orders of the officer who was trying to arrest him, police said. They said Nunez fought with the officer and stabbed him in the leg.
The officer was taken to Long Island Community Hospital and then transferred to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured artery, police said. The officer was listed in critical condition, they said.
Nunez was arrested on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest.
Nunez was admitted to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue and will be arraigned at a later date, authorities said. It wasn't clear if he had an attorney who could comment on the charges.
The driver of the Nissan was hospitalized for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.