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Steph Mac was driving near Manhattan Boulevard and Belmore Avenue in Islip Terrace at around 2:30 p.m. Monday, March 3, when she spotted a vehicle driving unusually slow ahead of her near Connetquot Elementary School, she wrote on the “Islip Terrace and All of the Islips” Facebook page.
At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary—until the driver pulled over to let her pass. After passing the vehicle, Mac spotted two girls, estimated to be middle or high school age, jogging down the street. In her rearview mirror, she saw the gray car creeping behind them.
Growing concerned, she pulled over and watched as the driver turned onto Valley Stream Street, parked at a stop sign, and waited for the girls to pass.
“Something feels very wrong,” Mac wrote in her post.
She drove back to the intersection and motioned for the driver to move through the stop sign—but he shook his head no and refused to go. For 10 more minutes, the car continued trailing the girls, stopping and starting behind them, Mac said.
That’s when she took action. Mac pulled over next to the girls and asked if they knew the man or the car. “No!” they responded, explaining that he had been following them for several minutes.
Mac advised them to change routes and move toward a more populated area. The moment they began running toward Connetquot Avenue, the driver screeched his tires, made a hard U-turn, and sped off—blowing through three stop signs and a red light to get away, she wrote.
Mac was able to follow the suspect briefly and take a photo of his license plate before he disappeared. She immediately reported the incident to police, providing them with all the information.
The driver was described as a Black male in his late 50s to 60s, driving a gray Honda sedan.
While his intentions remain unknown, Mac urged parents to warn their children to be cautious when jogging or walking alone, especially as the weather warms up.
“It’s always better to be safe than sorry,” she wrote. “ALWAYS listen to your gut and pay attention to your surroundings.”
Suffolk County Police responded to the scene and are investigating, the agency confirmed to Daily Voice. Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers or call 911.
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