LI Murder, Police Chase Ends in Fiery Car Crash in East New York

EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN — A man from Long Island stabbed his wife to death and then led police on a 30-mile chase before it ended with a fiery crash at a gas station in East New York on Friday morning, according to Nassau County Police.

The man, whom the New York Daily News identified as Robert Crumb, 44, fled the scene of the stabbing, before the suspect's Hyundai Sonata crashed into a gas station at Flatlands Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue after exiting the Southern State Parkway, police said.

Eyewitness reports indicate the suspect was rear-ended by a police car as it turned onto Flatland Avenue and plowed into the gas pumps at a Citgo station. Video from the scene showed the suspect's car, as well as another at the station, bursting into flames.

The suspect charged at officers after getting out of the burning car, but they were eventually able to subdue him, police said.

The whole incident began with Long Island police responding to a 911 call just before 1 a.m. at Seitz Drive in Bethpage, New York which reported an assault with a weapon inside the home, police said. A 12-year-old boy made that call after his father stabbed his 41-year-old mother to death, according to numerous reports.

The couple's 16-year-old daughter was also home at the time of the murder, and she suffered apparent defensive wounds, police said.

Several officers were injured in the struggle after the chase, including one who suffered smoke inhalation, according to a CBS New York report. The suspect was taken to the hospital with at least one self-inflicted stab wound, the report says.

Reporting by Ryan Bonner/Patch

Photo Credit: Google Maps Street View