Driver arrested after crashing into playground, police say
An out-of-control car slammed into a Wantagh playground Tuesday night, causing an estimated $40,000 in damage and landing the driver in a hospital and police custody, officials said.
Marc Ferraro, 37, of North Bellmore, was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of driving while intoxicated in the 10:35 p.m. crash by North Jerusalem Road and Spring Lane. He was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening, police said.
Photographs of the crash show a sedan with a badly damaged front end after it knocked over equipment and came to a stop.
The site, called the Watchtower playground, is still open, Town of Hempstead spokeswoman Susie Trenkle-Pokalsky said in a phone interview.
A spiral slide, climbing ladder and a few other items were damaged, she said.
“The preliminary assessment indicates that the cost of repairs will be $40,000,” Trenkle-Pokalsky said in an email.
The amount includes “fencing, playground equipment, repairs to the grounds and labor for the repairs,” she said. “It is still too early to have a timeline for repairs.”
Marc Ferraro, 37, of North Bellmore, was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of driving while intoxicated in a crash by North Jerusalem Road and Spring Lane in Wantagh, police said. Credit: NCPD
Ferraro, of Cayuga Avenue, was represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, which has a policy of not commenting during the arraignment stage of a case. Bail was set at $3,000 bond or $1,500 cash, neither of which was posted, according to court records.
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