Man Drove Wrong Way On Long Island Expressway: Police

MEDFORD, NY — A Bellport man was charged with drunken driving after he drove the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway in Medford on Sunday morning, Suffolk police said.

A 911 caller reported a Jeep was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of the LIE, near exit 68, at about 5:20 a.m., said police, adding that Highway Patrol officers Aaron Parker and Jason Hubbard responded in two separate police cars and saw the Jeep between exits 66 and 65 where it pulled off the road and came to a stop at about 5:30 a.m.

The officers determined the 2014 Jeep’s driver, Erick Marin-Pelaez, was intoxicated and placed him under arrest, and impounded the Jeep, according to police.

Marin-Pelaez, 22, was charged with driving while intoxicated, unlawfully fleeing a police officer and reckless driving, as well as numerous citations for traffic violations. He is being held at the 7th Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Sunday.