New York man flipped SUV carrying children in bloody family feud caught on video: prosecutors
A New York man and two of his sons have been indicted in a broad daylight brawl with their own cousins, involving wooden sticks, a flipped vehicle and blocked traffic, and most of it was caught on video.
The beef began on Dec. 17 when Patrick J. O'Connor, 38, allegedly threatened his unnamed 32-year-old cousin with a beer bottle in a Centereach restaurant, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.
Three days later, O'Connor and his cousin ran into each other on a road in nearby Hauppauge, prosecutors said. The cousin hopped into a Ford F150 with his dad and began following O'Connor.
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They tailed him for about 20 miles to Lindenhurst, where O'Connor's 19-year-old son, James, allegedly joined the fray.
The younger O'Connor allegedly slammed his SUV into his relative's truck and flipped his own vehicle in front of a bank on Sunrise Highway, prosecutors allege.
He had three younger siblings inside, ages 4, 12 and 16. None of the children was hurt.
Police have released video that begins after the crash, which prosecutors allege shows the elder O'Connor beating his cousin in the head with a wooden stick.
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James O'Connor and an unnamed younger brother also jumped in. Another male relative showed up, and they turned on him, too, according to prosecutors. One victim had two black eyes and needed staples in his head, prosecutors said. The other had a bloody lip and cuts on both hands.
A group of good Samaritans broke up the melee, and the O'Connors allegedly fled the scene but were arrested by Suffolk County police later that day.
O'Connor and both of his sons were ordered held on $100,000 cash bail each or $200,000 bond.
James O'Connor is due in court on January 23 on charges including second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child and leaving the scene of a traffic accident.
The other two have hearings scheduled for Jan. 17.
Patrick O'Connor is charged with two counts of second-degree assault, attempted assault and menacing. His minor son faces two assault charges.
"As alleged, these defendants brazenly began a physical brawl in the middle of Sunrise Highway, putting their family and the public at risk of serious harm," District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. "Fortunately, there were not more serious injuries or casualties that resulted out of this violent feud."