Teen Charged With DWI, Fleeing After LIE Service Road Crash

HOLTSVILLE, NY – A Long Island teen was arrested on a felony DWI charge after he crashed his car into a tree and then fled the scene with a 14-year-old passenger unconscious in the passenger seat Sunday night, police said.

According to Suffolk Police, 18-year-old Nicholas Criesi was driving a 2010 Honda Civic west on Express Drive North near Exit 62 on the Long Island Expressway in Holtsville when he lost control of the car, left the roadway and crashed into a tree shortly after 9 p.m.

Criesi fled the scene, leaving a 14-year-old girl unconscious and seriously injured in the passenger seat of the Civic, police said. The girl, who police did not identify, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Sixth Precinct Police, Aviation Section and Canine Section officers conducted a search of the area and Criesi was located nearby on Lakeside Drive and arrested at 9:50 p.m. Criesi was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Criesi, of Holtsville, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI with a child passenger 15 years old or younger (Leandra’s Law), endangering the welfare of a child, leaving the scene of an incident involving a personal injury and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. He was held overnight at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip Monday.

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