Cops: Drunken wrong-way driver crashes, injures 4 others

A Bay Shore man was charged with drunken driving after police said he drove his car the wrong way on Veterans Memorial Highway in Hauppauge late Sunday night, crashing into another car and injuring four people.

The wrong way driver, identified by Suffolk County police as Marcus Cabrera, 24, was transported to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening injuries. He was charged with driving while intoxicated and faces arraignment at a later date.

Police said Cabrera drove his 2009 Audi A4 eastbound in the westbound lanes of Vets Highway, crashing head-on into a westbound 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse near Lincoln Boulevard at about 11:10 p.m.

The 24-year-old driver and three adult passengers in the Eclipse also were transported to South Shore University Hospital for treatment of what police described as minor injuries.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

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.”