Wading River DWI crash injures 2, Riverhead police say

Riverhead Town police arrested a 27-year-old man early Saturday after they said he drove through a stop sign and struck a utility pole while drunk, seriously injuring one of his passengers.

Police said they were called to Sound Road and Oliver Street in Wading River at about 12:54 a.m. to investigate a report of a car crash. A 2005 Buick sedan had been traveling south on Shore Road when it failed to stop at a stop sign at Oliver Street, left the road and hit the pole, police said.

Police said the Buick’s driver, Paul Armato, 27, of Mill Street, Port Jefferson, appeared intoxicated, but uninjured, during an interview with police. He was placed under arrest and charged with driving while intoxicated, then taken to police headquarters.

Daniel Turano, 27, of Wading River, who was riding in the back seat of the car, sustained serious head and back injuries, police said. Both he and front seat passenger Brooke Kibbel, 20, of Miller Place, who had minor injuries to her right knee and left foot, were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment.

Kibbel was later released.

Police said speed and alcohol were contributing factors in the crash.