Tayquan Mayo-Dunmore pleads not guilty to drunken driving in Bellport ATV crash

A Bellport man pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he drove drunk on an ATV, causing it to flip and injure a woman on board.

A Suffolk County grand jury indicted Tayquan Mayo-Dunmore, 30, on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, three counts of vehicular assault and two counts of driving on a suspended license.

Prosecutors said Mayo-Dunmore was driving a Kawasaki ATV about 8 p.m. June 10 on Bellport Avenue in Bellport when he crashed, causing it to flip over and eject a woman riding on board. The woman suffered severe head trauma and had to be airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital where she was placed in a medically induced coma.

"ATVs can be dangerous if not operated safely and on proper terrain, and they absolutely do not belong on our roadways in Suffolk County,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement.

Mayo-Dunmore’s attorney, Steve Wilutis said his client said he wasn’t driving at the time of the crash. He said the woman injured was driving when they crashed and he was a passenger. He said the woman survived the crash.

“They had a horrible crash. They both passed out and she was more severely injured,” Wilutis said. “He was taken to the hospital and his blood tested high for alcohol, but his position was he wasn’t driving before or after the accident.”

During his arraignment Friday, Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro set Mayo-Dunmore's bail at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.