Wrong-Way Chaos: Intoxicated Driver Leads Police on Dangerous Pursuit on LIE
Suffolk County Police last night arrested a man for driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and fleeing from a police officer after he drove the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway.
Highway Patrol officers responded to a 911 report of a box truck swerving across the roadway as it traveled eastbound in the westbound lanes of the LIE near Exit 48 at 9:55 p.m. The truck, a 2017 Hino box truck, continued the wrong way for four exits before cutting across the center median in the vicinity of Exit 52, where it continued eastbound in the eastbound lanes.
A Highway Patrol vehicle, with lights and siren activated, followed the truck as it swerved back and forth across all lanes of traffic but did not stop. The truck finally came to a stop at Exit 62 in Holbrook after it rolled over stop sticks that had been set by other responding officers at approximately 10:20 p.m.
The driver, Nicolas Lopez Gomez, 30, of Elmhurst, NY, was arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated, Fleeing an Officer in a Motor Vehicle 3rd Degree, and Reckless Driving. He is being held overnight at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.