The five arrests involved only one crash, which resulted in no injuries, authorities said. The other four resulted from traffic stops for various violations.
The crash occurred Friday, March 6 around 7:40 p.m. in Hampton Bays, cops said. A 67-year-old woman, Sharon Rutter, was driving while intoxicated when she crashed her 2012 Volvo into another vehicle and left the scene, according to investigators. Officers tracked her down shortly after the wreck and charged her with DWI and leaving the scene of an accident.
Another person was busted for DWI on Saturday morning. Diego Farinango Chicaiza, a 30-year-old Flanders resident, was pulled over in Riverside around 9 a.m. for swerving out of his lane and having a broken brake light, Southampton police said. Cops determined he was under the influence at the time and charged him with DWI and traffic violations.
Two more people were arrested in the region on Sunday. Seven Smith, a 21-year-old Southampton man, was pulled over for unspecified traffic violations in Hampton Bays before his arrest.
Juan Sanchez, 41, of Brookhaven, was found unconscious in his vehicle in a travel lane on County Road 104 in Flanders on the same day and also charged with DWI, police said.
And on Monday morning, 26-year-old Hampton Bays resident Brandon Castaldo was stopped for a traffic violation in the town and also found to be operating his vehicle while intoxicated, authorities said.
In 2024, the most recent year with statewide data, 25 people were killed in “substance-related” crashes on Long Island, down sharply for the 78 people who died in such crashes in 2023.
Click here to follow Daily Voice and receive free news updates.
