Woman charged with DWI after rescue from burning vehicle, Suffolk police say
A woman was pulled from a burning vehicle in Hauppauge Wednesday night, after the car crossed the double yellow line and crashed into a utility pole, Suffolk police said. Credit: Chris Sabella
A woman saved from a burning vehicle Wednesday night in Hauppauge was later arrested and charged with drunken driving, Suffolk County police said.
Police said Melanie Lhommedieu, 45, of St. James, was driving a 2009 BMW south on Wheeler Road when the vehicle crossed the double yellow line near the intersection of Marlo Lane, crashed into a utility pole and caught fire just after 10 p.m. Two men in a vehicle behind the BMW saw the crash, stopped and pulled Lhommedieu from the burning wreck, police said.
Police did not release the identities of the two men.
There were no reported serious injuries, police said.
After an investigation, police said Lhommedieu was charged with driving while intoxicated, first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and multiple traffic violations. She was held overnight at the Fourth Precinct and is scheduled for arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Central Islip.
It was not immediately clear if she is represented by counsel.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”