Montauk Man Charged With DWI After Crash

A 19-year-old Montauk man was charged with driving while intoxicated by the East Hampton Town police early Sunday morning, May 5, after the teen was involved in a motor vehicle accident. According to the police, Andres Quito sustained abrasions and bruising in the crash, and was taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. There, he was treated, and eventually released back to the police.

Police said that Quito was headed east in a 2014 Toyota SUV just past the Hither Hills overlook on Montauk Highway when he fell asleep. The vehicle crossed into and past the westbound lane, struck a guardrail, then continued off the road and down a ravine, where it crashed into a tree, police said. The accident occurred a little before 4 AM.

Quito was held throughout Sunday, and was arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court Monday.

Town police also charged a Long Beach man with misdemeanor DWI over the weekend. Arthur Andrews, 54, was behind the wheel of a 2007 Toyota which was stopped in the intersection of Springy Banks Road and Treescape Lane a little after midnight Saturday, May 4, the police said, adding that Andrews was talking on his cellphone at the time. After allegedly failing roadside sobriety tests, he was arrested and taken to headquarters, where police reported a breath test reading of .17, well over the .08 mark that defines intoxication, and just missing the .18 reading that would have raised the charge to the aggravated level.

It was the first time he had ever been arrested, and he was released Sunday morning after being arraigned without bail.

Sag Harbor Village police also charged a man with misdemeanor DWI. Christopher Holdsworth, 25, a resident of the village, was reportedly driving a 2010 Chevrolet Canyon in the oncoming lane of travel on Main Street early Saturday morning. When police ran his license, they said they discovered it had been suspended, for multiple failures to appear in court to answer traffic summonses.

Holdsworth had been arrested on the same charge by Riverhead Town Police in December 2012. He later pleaded down to a simple violation charge of driving with ability impaired by alcohol. His family was in the courtroom for his arraignment later Saturday morning, and he was ordered released without bail by the village’s Associate Justice Janine Rayano later that morning.

A Southampton man who was charged by Sag Harbor police with drunken driving was cleared in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court last week. According to police, Rafael Valdespino was asleep behind the wheel of a Jeep Cherokee parked in a driveway on Madison Street April 22. The engine was on and the keys were in the ignition, with music playing in the car. Police said he struck an officer with an elbow during the arrest process, leading to a harassment charge on top of aggravated DWI.

However, his attorney, Brian Lester of Tarbet & Lester, during Valdespino’s May 3 court date, pointed out to both the prosecuting attorney and Sag Harbor Village Justice Lisa Rana that he was parked on private property. A DWI charge requires that the defendant is operating a vehicle on what is called “a public highway.” With the dismissal of the DWI charge, the harassment charge fell by the wayside, as well, since it would not have occurred without DWI arrest.

t.e@indyeastend.com