Drunken driver hits officer's car head on, police say
A Southold police officer suffered minor injuries Saturday night after a drunken driver hit the officer's car head-on while driving on Route 25 in Mattituck, police said.
Police Officer David Okula was behind the wheel of his marked police vehicle at 10:42 p.m. when he saw a westbound vehicle drifting to the far shoulder on the opposite side of the road, according to a news release from Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley.
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A Southold police officer suffered minor injuries Saturday night after a drunken driver hit the officer's car head-on while driving on Route 25 in Mattituck, police said.
Police Officer David Okula was behind the wheel of his marked police vehicle at 10:42 p.m. when he saw a westbound vehicle drifting to the far shoulder on the opposite side of the road, according to a news release from Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley.
Okula stopped but the other driver, Juan Santos, 30, of Mattituck, swerved and hit Okula's car head on. Okula was able to stop Santos and take away his car keys, the release said. The officer was taken to a hospital, treated for minor injuries and released.
Santos was tested and found to be intoxicated, police said, and was held for arraignment Sunday morning. He is charged with felony DWI.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.