Driver charged with DWAI after hitting patrol car in Patchogue, Suffolk police say

A motorist, now charged with driving while impaired by drugs/alcohol, struck a police car Friday night in Patchogue, injuring an officer inside, Suffolk police said.

The driver, Sylvia Ebiware, 44, of Bellport, ran into a patrol car stopped in traffic by 39 East Main St. shortly before 10:30 p.m. The officer was taken to a hospital to be treated and released, police said.

Ebiware was arraigned Saturday at Suffolk First District Court in Central Islip and released on her own recognizance, according to online court records. She is represented by Suffolk County Legal Aid, which does not comment. Her next court appearance is Thursday.

This is the second night in a row that a motorist has crashed into a patrol car on Long Island. In Ronkonkoma, another driver, later charged with driving while intoxicated, crashed her vehicle into a police car with its emergency lights flashing as it was positioned to block traffic from a nearby accident.