62 Drivers Nabbed In Suffolk Sheriff's Summer DWI Crackdown

YAPHANK, NY – Sixty-two drivers were arrested for impaired driving during the summer’s STOP Driving While Intoxicated campaign, Operation HEAT, throughout Suffolk County, Sheriff Errol Toulon said.

The sheriff’s office increased DWI patrols and checkpoints, from the west end of the county to the East End, “to keep roadways safe during one of the deadliest times of the year,” his office said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association found that the number of drunk driving accidents doubled during the summer months compared to all other months combined.

From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, the sheriff's office made 62 DWI arrests, compared to 40 in the same period in 2022.

Included in this year’s enhanced DWI enforcement arrests were 10 aggravated DWI charges, in which the defendant had a Blood Alcohol Content of .18 or higher, nine arrests with prior DWI arrests, and one Leandra's Law arrest.

Leandra’s Law or the Child Passenger Protection Act is state law making it an automatic felony on the first offense to drive drunk with a person 15 or younger inside the vehicle.

It was named after 11-year-old Leandra Rosado who was killed on the Henry Hudson Parkway on Oct. 11, 2009, when she was the passenger in a car, that was driven by a driver who was allegedly driving while intoxicated and there was an accident.

“Our deputy sheriffs continue to do an incredible job patrolling for impaired drivers,” Toulon said. “This summer they prevented more than 60 potential tragedies on our roadways and will enforce DWI laws all year long to keep motorists safe. If you don’t drive sober, you will be pulled over.”