Crash Closes Route 114, Driver Arrested

A one-vehicle crash on Route 114 at dawn Saturday, that closed the main road between Sag Harbor and East Hampton for several hours on an already busy weekend, ended with the arrest of the driver, Stephanie Baker, on misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated. Her passenger was taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.

Baker, 27, of Pleasantville, Nova Scotia, was headed south on Route 114 August 10 when she failed to navigate a left turn onto Swamp Road and hit a PSEG utility pole, bringing the pole and attached power lines down onto the roadway.

Both Baker and her passenger were wearing their seatbelts, the accident report says. The airbags deployed. The entire front end of the car was crushed in. The passenger was taken to the hospital complaining of neck pain, and has since been released.

Baker was seemingly unscathed when she was brought in to be arraigned later that morning, at East Hampton Town Justice Court in front of Justice Lisa Rana. Baker told the court that she has worked in East Hampton for the summer for the same employer for the past six years, and was due to return to Nova Scotia when that job ends later this month.

Rana told Baker her driving privileges in New York were suspended based upon a reported breath test that read her blood alcohol content at .08 percent, the mark that defines intoxication in New York State. Carl Irace, representing Baker for the arraignment, said that state court precedent shows driving privileges should be suspended only if the reading comes back exceeding .08, not at .08 itself.

Rana said the law gave .08 as the number, rejecting Irace’s argument, and put Baker’s case on her criminal calendar for Thursday, August 15, to move it forward, while setting bail at $300, which was posted. Irace, who was on hand to defend those arrested for arraignment purposes only, said his argument is still an avenue Baker’s future attorney can explore.

A much less serious accident ended with DWI charges for a Manhattan man in Montauk the night of Wednesday, August 7. Police said Michael Kissane, 48, driving a 2010 Ford, was tailgating a 2005 Toyota on the plaza approaching Montauk Main Street. When the Toyota came to a halt at the stop sign at the intersection, Kissane rear-ended it, police said. Neither driver sustained injuries, with the same being true for the two passengers in the Toyota. Kissane was released the next day without bail.

A Montauk man was charged with DWI a little before midnight Friday, August 9. Police said John Kanavy was driving a 2018 Nissan pickup on Main Street in downtown Montauk when he failed to signal a turn onto the plaza, while also failing to yield to oncoming traffic, leading to a stop and his arrest. He was released Saturday morning after being arraigned without bail.

Jorge Ivan Herrara-Murillo, 31, of Springs, was arrested early morning Sunday, August 11, after being pulled over driving a 2001 Volvo on Abrahams Path in East Hampton near Springs Fireplace Road for blowing through the stop sign there, police said. He posted $300 bail later that morning and was released, with a future date on Rana’s criminal calendar.

t.e@indyeastend.com