Alan Mercado, of Medford, faces DWAI charges after fatal motorcycle crash that closed LIE

Suffolk County police charged a Medford man with DWAI on Monday following a crash that killed a motorcyclist on the Long Island Expressway in Islandia.

Police later identified the motorcyclist killed as Idris Shehu, 20, of Hicksville.

The crash occurred between Exit 58 and Exit 57 in Islandia at 1:10 a.m. and forced the closure of all westbound lanes of the LIE well into the rush hour, police said.

Alan Mercado was driving a 2010 Honda on the westbound expressway, just east of Exit 57, and changing lanes when his car was struck from behind by a 2017 Yamaha motorcycle, police said.

Shehu was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the Honda was transported to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening. Mercado was not injured.

Mercado, 67, was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs. He was being held for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip on Tuesday.

It was one of two fatal motorcycle accidents on the LIE in an eight-hour period. A passenger on a motorcycle was killed Sunday afternoon in a crash on the LIE in Yaphank, police said.

More coverage: Long Island traffic crashes claimed 243 lives in 2022, 29% more than in 2019, Newsday has reported. The level was the highest since 2015, as dangerous driving increased post-COVID-19 and police traffic enforcement dropped, according to a Newsday analysis of crash and ticketing data and traffic experts.