Twenty-four hours after a rookie Suffolk County police officer graduated from the academy, he made a daring arrest.

Anthony Napolitano graduated Friday, one day before he and his family witnessed a two-car accident on Route 25 in Ridge. Napolitano asked his wife and father to call 911.

However, Napolitano saw one of the drivers fleeing on foot. "[He] got out of the car, started running into the woods," Napolitano said. "That's when I gave chase."

In a suit and dress shoes, Napolitano ran after 31-year-old Steven Kowalski, of Ridge, armed with only a badge. A former Head of the Harbor and Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officer, Napolitano officially started work Monday.

Kowalski is charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, though the people in the other car were not seriously injured.