Driver arrested following police chase

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A police chase that began on the Southern State Parkway last week ended at a school in Seaford with the driver in custody and facing multiple charges.

According to New York State Police, a trooper attempted to stop a vehicle on the Southern State Parkway, eastbound near the exit for Route 135, on Aug. 26 shortly after noon. Police say the driver was talking on his cell phone. He was identified as 26-year-old Michael Kessler, of Ocean Harbor Drive in Oceanside.

Police say that Kessler, driving a Jeep Cherokee, refused to stop, and proceeded onto Route 135 southbound where he reached speeds exceeding 100 mph. He then exited at Sunrise Highway and proceeded to drive eastbound in the westbound lanes.

Several motorists alerted the officer that they saw the driver leave the vehicle. The Jeep continued without an operator until it struck a vehicle near Jackson Avenue in Seaford.

Kessler attempted to flee through St. William the Abbot School on Jackson Avenue, police say. He was soon found near the accident scene and was apprehended after a brief foot pursuit.

Kessler was charged with a felony count of criminal possession of stolen property. Police say that he stole the Jeep from a school in Oceanside. He also was charged with several misdemeanors including second-degree reckless endangerment, fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, driving while ability impaired by drugs and third-degree criminal trespass, as well as numerous traffic violations.