Memorial Day weekend DWI checkpoint nets 10 arrests, cops say

Ten people were arrested and one vehicle seized during an overnight sobriety checkpoint in Patchogue, Suffolk County police said Saturday.

Officers from the Suffolk County police Highway Patrol Bureau, assisted by the New York State Police, operated the checkpoint on Friday from 11 p.m. to Saturday at 2:47 a.m. at Waverly Plaza, on the Sunrise Highway North Service Road in Patchogue.

The operation was conducted as part of the ongoing Memorial Day holiday enforcement effort aimed at preventing driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs. A total of 757 vehicles went through the checkpoint.

Those arrested were men and women ranging in age from 24 to 53. They were scheduled for arraignment Saturday in First District Court in Central Islip.

Police said the vehicle seized belongs to a 30-year-old Sayville man who has a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated.

The effort is only one of other similar programs being conducted by police on Long Island during Memorial Day weekend to take drivers who are intoxicated off the roads.

Others in that effort include Long Beach City police watching patrons leaving bars, marinas and other establishments for signs of possible impairment, and warning them of the consequences of drunken driving or boating.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the location of Waverly Plaza; it is on the Sunrise Highway North Service Road.