Mastic Beach Man Arrested After Fleeing Stolen U-Haul, Hit-and-Run Crash

Suffolk County Police say officers arrested 42-year-old Gerald Matzen of Mastic Beach on March 1 after he allegedly fled a traffic stop in a van that had been reported stolen from a U‑Haul location in East Patchogue on Feb. 27. The department says Fifth Precinct officers attempted the stop on the eastbound Sunrise Highway Service Road in Patchogue before the vehicle took off.

Police describe the driver as “drove recklessly through multiple Suffolk County communities” during the flight; sources variously identified the vehicle as a 2025 Ford van and as a U‑Haul Ford Transit van. The pursuit ended when the van was involved in a wrong-way hit-and-run collision while traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes on Express Drive North in Holtsville, Suffolk County Police reported.

No injuries were reported in the collision, according to the police account, but the incident was classified as a hit-and-run with property damage. The van was later abandoned on Lidge Drive in Farmingville and witnesses or officers say the occupants fled on foot from that scene.

Police located a passenger identified as 48-year-old Edwin Jefferson of Mastic Beach on John Drive in Farmingville and charged him with multiple outstanding warrants, the release states. Jefferson’s arrest was separate from the criminal charges filed against the driver and related to outstanding warrants, sources confirm.

Matzen was found about 10:26 a.m. on Dogwood Avenue in Farmingville and taken into custody, Suffolk County Police say. SouthShore Press reports Matzen’s address as 271 Cypress Drive, Mastic Beach. Both men were held overnight at the Sixth Precinct following the arrests.

Suffolk County Police charged Matzen with the following offenses: Criminal Possession of a Narcotic Drug in the Fourth Degree; Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree; Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Crash with Property Damage; Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle in the Third Degree; Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer; Reckless Driving; Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree; and Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree. He was also issued multiple traffic summonses and charged on multiple outstanding warrants.

According to the police release cited by local outlets, both Matzen and Jefferson were scheduled to be arraigned on March 2 at First District Court in Central Islip after being held at the Sixth Precinct. Suffolk County Police provided the timeline and locations in their statement, noting the vehicle theft was first reported Feb. 27 at the East Patchogue U‑Haul location.