3 dead after stolen car crashes into Long Island pond, police say

ALBERTSON, N.Y. -- New York State Police say three people are dead after a stolen car crashed into a pond on Long Island.

It happened at about 6 p.m. Sunday in the Nassau County hamlet of Albertson. 

The license plate reader got a hit that the vehicle was stolen on January 6th in Hempstead, according to New York State Police Major David Candelaria, CBS New York reported. 

State police say a trooper spotted the stolen Honda and followed it without turning on the patrol car’s lights or siren. They say the Honda began speeding up before it crashed through a fence and overturned into a pond.

Authorities say one of the victims was pulled from the water and the other two were found in the car after it was pulled from the pond. The victims were taken to a hospital where they were pronounced dead. Their names have not yet been released. 

“It was not a chase, by definition it was not a chase,” Candelaria said in a press conference Sunday evening. “He did not have his lights on, siren. He was not chasing them. He was waiting for backup.”

It’s not clear at this time whether or not road conditions played a role in the accident, which remains under investigation.