Inwood building hit by drunken driver, Nassau police say

A West Hempstead woman was arraigned Thursday on a drunken driving charge after police said she drove her car into the front steps of an Inwood restaurant the previous day, injuring herself and another driver.

Shannon Johnson, 24, was charged Wednesday with driving while intoxicated and was arraigned Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead. No bail was set and she was released on her own recognizance pending her next court appearance, which is scheduled for Aug. 2, according to court records.

According to Nassau County police, the crash happened shortly before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, when Johnson was driving northeast on Sheridan Boulevard in a 2017 Ford Fiesta, passed a steady red traffic signal, crashed into a 2001 Lincoln Navigator traveling east on Bayview Avenue, then drove into the steps of the La Esquinita Deli Restaurant.

Police said Johnson and the 18-year-old driver of the Lincoln Navigator were taken to a hospital to be treated for minor injuries, but no one was injured inside the restaurant.

An investigation found Johnson was driving while intoxicated, the release said.

Bayview Avenue at Craft Street and Sheridan Boulevard at Roger Avenue in Inwood were closed to traffic in both directions for about two hours after the crash into the restaurant Wednesday, but authorities said there was no structural damage to the building.