The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office conducted increased DWI patrols over the 4th of July weekend, resulting in seven arrests including one for violating Leandra’s Law.
On July 3, 2022 at 2:50 a.m. Deputy Sheriffs arrested Lydiana Soto Martinez, 37, Medford on charges of Aggravated DWI - Child in Vehicle (E-Felony), Driving While Intoxicated (U-Misdemeanor) and Endangering the Welfare of a Child (A-Misdemeanor). Ms. Soto was stopped for failing to maintain her lane of travel on SR 112 in Medford. A subsequent investigation revealed she exhibited signs of intoxication including slurred speech, blood shot eyes, and an odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath. Her three children aged 15, 12, and 5 were passengers in the vehicle she was operating. She was placed into custody on the above charges and transported to the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Enforcement Bureau. Ms. Soto submitted to a chemical blood test and results are pending with the Suffolk Crime Lab. Ms. Soto was arraigned on July 3rd, 2022, at Suffolk County First District Court.
Leandra’s Law (the Child Passenger Protection Act) is a NYS law making it an automatic felony on the first offense to drive drunk with a person age 15 or younger inside the vehicle. It was named after 11 year-old Leandra Rosado who was killed on the Henry Hudson Parkway on October 11, 2009, when she was the passenger in a car accident, driven by a driver who was allegedly driving while intoxicated.
This arrest was one of seven arrests for Driving While Intoxicated over the holiday weekend.
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. commends his deputies. “Suffolk County Deputy Sheriffs are out patrolling our county’s roads to keep the public safe. This holiday weekend, they not only prevented seven intoxicated drivers from causing an accident with another driver or a pedestrian, but they potentially saved the life of three children in one of the vehicles. I am proud of their ongoing vigilance in protecting the residents of Suffolk County.”
