Ridge man violated Leandra’s Law, Riverhead police say

A Ridge man violated Leandra’s Law on Thursday when he was drunk while driving with a passenger 15 years old or younger, Riverhead Town Police said.

Responding to Route 58 at about 5 p.m. after a witness reported a possible drunken driver, police said they conducted an investigation and charged the vehicle’s driver, Ronald J. Bagger, with driving while intoxicated, a felony under Leandra’s Law.

Bagger refused a breath-analyzer test, police said.

His vehicle was impounded and Bagger, 50, of Ridge Haven Drive, was held for arraignment Friday at Riverhead Justice Court, police said.

Under Leandra’s Law, passed in 2009, drivers who are intoxicated or impaired by drugs with a child younger than 15 in the vehicle can be charged with a felony. The law was passed after the death of Leandra Rosado, 11, who was killed Oct. 11, 2009, in a DWI accident after the minivan in which she was a passenger crashed on West Side Highway in Manhattan.

Police provided no information on the passenger, including whether he or she was released to a family member.