Anthony Bolasingh of Roosevelt drove drunk, crashed with kids in car, police say
Officers responding to a 911 call reporting an auto accident in Baldwin late Tuesday arrested the driver, charging him with drunken driving under Leandra's Law — after finding his two children in the vehicle, Nassau County police said.
Police said Anthony Bolasingh, 31, of Roosevelt, was driving a 1999 BMW 540 when he crashed into a 2018 Toyota Prius driven by a 44-year-old man near the intersection of Forest and Centennial avenues at about 10:25 p.m. The BMW then struck a utility pole, police said.
A 31-year-old female passenger in the BMW driven by Bolasingh was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, police said. The two children in the vehicle — described by police as a 9-year-old and a 10-year old — were unharmed.
Police did not detail the relationship between the woman and Bolasingh.
The second driver was uninjured, police said.
Bolasingh was charged with driving while intoxicated, two counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated under Leandra's Law, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation and unlicensed operation of a vehicle.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead. As of Wednesday afternoon, no arraignment information was online and no defense counsel was listed.
Leandra's Law is named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who was killed Oct. 11, 2009, when a car driven by her friend's mother, Carmen Huertas, overturned on the Henry Hudson Parkway in New York City.
Police said Huertas, driving drunk, was doing 68 mph in a 50-mph zone when the crash occurred. Six other girls attending a sleepover party with Rosado were also injured in the crash.
The law, enacted in November 2009, makes it a felony, even on first offense, to drive drunk with children under age 16 in the vehicle.
Huertas later pled guilty to all charges and was sentenced to 4-to-12 years in prison.
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.”
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Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
