Police arrested a New York City man following a road rage incident in East Hampton Village that led to an alleged assault in which the victim sustained serious head trauma that required emergency surgery.
East Hampton Village police said Charles Harrison Streep, 31, assaulted the victim in the parking lot behind the Chase Bank on Main Street on Monday morning. The victim is an 18-year-old from Springs whose name police did not release as he is still hospitalized.
According to Lieutenant Gregory Brown, the incident began when the victim, driving a Ford sedan, pulled off of Main Street into the Circle, which leads to the bank parking lot. The defendant, who had been driving an Audi convertible, was pulling out of the Circle onto Main Street, he said.
Streep, who is a nephew of the actress Meryl Streep, allegedly assaulted the victim in the parking lot. Brown declined to answer specifics about the assault.
Police received several 911 calls about a possible fight at 11:30 a.m., but Streep was already gone when they arrived.
Officers interviewed the victim. He refused any medical attention, however, and went home, Lieutenant Brown said. No ambulance was called to the scene, though an emergency medical service provider, who had been in the area, was on scene, he said.
A short while later, once the victim was home, he requested medical assistance and was transported to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, Brown said. By 2:30 p.m., he had been airlifted from Southampton to Stony Brook University Hospital, as he required surgery for the trauma.
A detective-led investigation led police to Streep, who was arrested at a house on Pondview Lane, also in the village, early Thursday morning. He has been charged with second-degree assault and second-degree strangulation, both felonies.
A person is guilty of strangulation in the second degree when he obstructs the breathing or blood circulation, causing loss of consciousness or any other physical injury or impairment, the penal law states.
East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky arraigned Streep via Skype on Thursday afternoon. He posted $5,000 of a partially-secured $50,000 bond. If he fails to appear, the $5,000 is forfeited and he is legally obligated to the court for the balance of $45,000.
Stephen Grossman, who is representing Streep, declined to comment when reached by phone on Thursday afternoon.
According to VirginiaSports.com, Streep played lacrosse at University of Virginia after spending four years at Bucknell. The website said he graduated New Canaan High School in 2007 and is the son of Mary Streep and Dana Streep, who is Meryl Streep’s brother.
