Driver charged with DWI after fiery crash left him, passenger seriously injured, police say
A Mastic man has been arrested and charged with drunken driving and aggravated unlicensed operation following a fiery early morning crash in Montauk that left him and a female passenger seriously injured Monday, police said.
East Hampton Town police said Wilme Chan-Herrera, 26, was driving a 2019 GMC Terrain westbound on Montauk Highway near Lincoln Avenue when he lost control of the SUV, striking a guard rail and a tree around 3 a.m. Police said the vehicle "became engulfed in flames" before Chan-Herrera and a 30-year-old female passenger, whose identity was not released, were able to escape.
Both Chan-Herrera and the woman were transported by Montauk Ambulance to Stony Brook-Southampton Hospital with what police called "serious injuries."
The extent of those injuries was not immediately clear.
Police said Chan-Herrera was charged with driving while intoxicated and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
Arraignment details were not available.
Police are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to call East Hampton Town detectives at 631-537-6989. All calls will remain confidential.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”