HEYOFFCR.
If the vanity license plate on the 2001 BMW sedan speeding along the Long Island Expressway was meant to attract the attention of police, then the Queens man who was racing against several others early yesterday got what he asked for, police said.
Around 1:20 a.m., Nassau County Highway Patrol Officer Joseph Fernandez was pulling onto the westbound expressway near exit 48 when he saw eight to 10 high-end performance cars zip by faster than 100 mph, weaving across several lanes of traffic, said Det. Sgt. Anthony Repalone.
Fernandez flipped on his emergency lights and tried to make a traffic stop, but the cars kept going, Repalone said.
So the officer called other highway patrol units for assistance.
"He sees them in and out of traffic, headed toward the city, and he radios ahead to other patrol units to set up a stop," Repalone said.
The cars zipped to an area police call "the valley," the two-and-a-half-mile stretch between exits 40 and 39, but two patrol officers were waiting. When slower traffic forced the cars to slow down, the officers chased down four of them, Repalone said. The rest sped off.
Police arrested Anil Isaac, 22, of 124-08 107th Ave., Richmond Hill, who was driving the "HEYOFFCR" car. They also arrested brothers Ziad, 21, and Riad Mohamed, 19, both of 14926 122nd Pl., and Rajesh Prashaud, 21, of 135-26 Lefferts Blvd., all South Ozone Park. Riad Mohamed was in a 2006 Mazda RX8, Ziad in a 2004 Nissan, and Prashaud in a 2004 Infiniti. All the cars were impounded. All four are being held pending their arraignments.
The drivers told police they were returning from a night of drag racing on Route 231, Deer Park Avenue, police said. Suffolk police did not return a call regarding the drag racing yesterday.
The four are scheduled to be arraigned today in First District Court in Hempstead on charges of second-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, unlawful fleeing a police officer and illegal speed contest, as well as more than 40 traffic violations.
Three of the cars had windshield stickers that read "Place Ticket Here," with an arrow pointing to a spot under the windshield wipers, police said.
A woman who identified herself as Isaac's mother declined to comment, as did a man who answered the phone at the Mohamed residence. A message left at the Prashaud residence was not returned.
Isaac was issued 12 summonses for violations including an obstructed driver's view, failure to stay in a lane and having an illegally tinted windshield. Ziad Mohamed received 11 violations, Riad Mohamed seven violations and Prashaud eight violations, police said.
"We had the last laugh," Repalone said.
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