Dad faces Leandra's Law charge in Greenlawn crash
A mother and father from Huntington Station are accused of endangering the welfare of their three children after a car crash that occurred moments after the family had left a baby shower, police said.
Wilver Garcia-Lopez, 28, of West 11th Street, was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated under Leandra's Law, as well as three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, after he crashed the family car into the front stoop of a house on South Lane in Greenlawn at 9:05 p.m. Tuesday, Suffolk police said.
His wife, Dorita DeGarcia, 25, also was charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Police said she fled the accident scene with the children -- ages 2, 6 and 8 -- to the nearby house that had hosted the shower.
DeGarcia and the children were later treated for minor injuries at Huntington Hospital, police said.
Leandra's Law makes it a felony, even on first offense, to drive drunk with a child younger than 16 in the vehicle.
Garcia-Lopez and DeGarcia were to be arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Central Islip.
Police could not immediately say if the children had been placed with relatives or in protective custody.
Navigating politics over Thanksgiving and where to get holiday pies. Here's a look at some of the exclusive stories you may have missed this week on NewsdayTV.
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