Driver arrested in LIE wrong-way crash in Plainview, police say

A Westchester County man was arrested and charged with DWI and reckless endangerment after he drove the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway early Monday — crashing into another vehicle in Plainview and injuring the driver, police said.

Police said John Durant, 41, of Pelham, drove westbound in the eastbound lanes of the LIE at Wicks Road in Brentwood in a 2007 Nissan Murano. At about 4 a.m. on Monday, he crashed into a 2013 Nissan Altima near Exit 46 in Plainview, police said.

The Altima driver, Fatma Parwana, 24, of Medford, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip and treated for injuries that are not considered life-threatening, according to police. She was later released.

Durant, who also was taken to Good Samaritan, was charged with driving while intoxicated and first-degree reckless endangerment, police said. His arraignment will occur at a later date.

The crash closed the eastbound roadway for more than four hours. The eastbound lanes were reopened at about 8:15 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

Nassau County police said Suffolk police were “pacing” the wrong-way car — that is, tracking him from the westbound lanes — from Suffolk into Nassau when the crash occurred.

Brentwood to Plainview is about 14 miles, and Suffolk police declined to comment on whether they were tracking the vehicle from the westbound side during that time. They also declined to say whether officers were dispatched on the eastbound LIE ahead of the wrong-way vehicle.

“The Suffolk County Police Department attempted to deploy stop sticks and a variety of maneuvers in an effort to stop the vehicle,” Suffolk County Assistant Police Commissioner Justin Meyers said in a statement, referring to a type of tire deflator. “Nassau County police applied a serpentine technique to slow down traffic at Exit 43 of the eastbound Long Island Expressway before the crash occurred.”

Suffolk police ask anyone with information on the crash to call the Third Squad at 631-854-8352 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

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.”