Driver in Sagtikos Parkway crash that injured 3 was high, cops say

The driver of a sport utility vehicle was impaired by drugs when he smashed into the concrete center median on the Sagtikos State Parkway in Brentwood, police said.

Miguel Fuentes, 37, of the Bronx, was in possession of cocaine and was charged with driving while impaired by drugs, vehicular assault and criminal possession of a controlled substance, State Police said.

A front-seat passenger, Jessica Ocasio, 37, of New York City, was found in possession of cocaine and was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said.

Fuentes lost control of his 2002 Ford Explorer about 5 p.m. Tuesday after entering the parkway southbound at Exit S2 near the Long Island Expressway, police said.

The crash snarled traffic in the southbound lane near Exit S2 and the campus of the old Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center for about an hour, officials said.

Brentwood Assistant Fire Chief Michael Derbyshire said the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time, and that its three occupants were trapped inside after impact. Firefighters extricated them from the vehicle, Derbyshire added.

The occupants were taken to a hospital to be treated for minor injuries, police said.