Copiague man charged with DWI after crashing into Suffolk police vehicle
Suffolk County police arrested a Copiague man and charged him with DWI after he crashed his car into a patrol vehicle in Copiague on Thursday night. Credit: Paul Mazza
A Copiague man was arrested and charged with felony driving while intoxicated after Suffolk County police said he crashed his car into a marked police patrol unit on Thursday night on Montauk Highway in Copiague, injuring himself and a police officer.
The crash occurred on Montauk Highway at Hawkins Boulevard about 9:45 p.m., police said.
Police said Julio Zelaya, 39, was driving a 2004 Acura TL east on Montauk Highway when he attempted to make a left turn onto Hawkins — colliding with a westbound patrol car driven by Suffolk Police Officer Jordan Tozitsky.
Both Zelaya and Tozitsky, 32, were transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of what police described as non-life-threatening injuries.
Zelaya was arrested and charged with felony DWI due to a previous conviction of the designated offense within 10 years. He faces arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip at a later date, police said. It was not clear if he is represented by counsel.
Additional details were not immediately available.
More coverage: Every 7 minutes on average a traffic crash causing death, injury or significant property damage happens on Long Island. A Newsday investigation found that traffic crashes killed more than 2,100 people between 2014 and 2023 and seriously injured more than 16,000 people. To search for fatal crashes in your area, click here.
John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.
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