Deer Park driver charged with hitting teen on bicycle, leaving scene

The Suffolk County police arrested and charged a Deer Park man for allegedly leaving the scene of an accident in which he struck a teenager riding a bicycle in West Islip.

About 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Charles Dreitlein, 67, was driving on Roderick Road near Spruce Avenue when he struck the 13-year-old boy, the police said in a Monday news release. Dreitlein failed to stop, according to the police.

Video footage of the crash, which the police confirmed late Tuesday, shows an SUV approaching what appears to be three young teens gathered around bicycles on a residential street, a few feet from the curb. The dark-colored SUV appears in the right side of the frame and slows considerably as it continues toward the bikes, striking one as its rider jumps off. The SUV briefly stops as the teens appear to gesture and attempt to speak with the driver, who slowly accelerates, dragging the bike underneath until the vehicle disappears from the video frame.

The bicyclist suffered a fractured finger, a police spokesperson told Newsday via email.

Someone who spotted the bicycle abandoned at the intersection of Ruth and Kane streets called police, kick-starting an investigation, police said. That intersection is about a mile west of the scene of the alleged collision.

Police arrested Dreitlein outside his home about 6:05 p.m. Monday and charged him with third-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in personal injury, the release said.

Dreitlein was to be held overnight at the Suffolk police’s Third Precinct in Bay Shore and arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip, police said in the release. He was not arraigned on Tuesday and will instead appear before a judge on June 26, according to court documents.

A Suffolk police spokesperson confirmed he is no longer in their custody Tuesday evening via email. Defense attorney information for Dreitlein was not immediately available.