Yonkers man charged in Spring Valley car crash that injured 9, including 2 officers

A Yonkers man has been charged in a Tuesday multi-car crash in Spring Valley that left nine people, including two police officers, injured.

Spring Valley Police Det. Matt Galli said an officer found a car completely stopped in the westbound lane of Route 59 near New Clarkstown Road and Dutch Lane with no vehicles in front of it around 6:50 p.m. According to police, the driver of the car, Nelson Torres, 45, of Yonkers, appeared unresponsive behind the wheel while the car was still in drive.

Galli said the officer then positioned his patrol car in front of the other vehicle to protect the unresponsive driver, and made an effort to get into the car to help Torres but could not wake him.

After an attempt to enter the car by breaking the windows of the vehicle, Galli said Torres woke up and fled westbound on Route 59, crashing into two unoccupied police vehicles and other occupied vehicles on the roadway.

Overall, seven cars were involved in the crash, which ended a few hundred yards down the roadway. Galli said Torres, two police officers and several other civilians were injured and treated for minor injuries at nearby hospitals.

Torres was removed from the vehicle following the crash and taken into custody by Spring Valley police. He was taken to Nyack Hospital for a medical and psychological evaluation, where he remained as of Thursday afternoon.

Torres has been charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree unlawful fleeing from a police officer in a motor vehicle, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, driving while ability impaired by drugs and several other vehicle and traffic violations.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers man charged in Spring Valley car crash that injured 9, including 2 officers