Jorge Arias Reyes, of Hempstead, charged in wrong-way crashes that closed LIE, police say

A Hempstead man was charged with driving while intoxicated after a wrong-way crash on the Long Island Expressway early Sunday left him and another driver with serious injuries, Nassau police said.

Around 6:40 a.m., officers received a report of a vehicle traveling west in the eastbound lanes near Exit 37.

Jorge Arias Reyes, 49, had crashed his 2009 Honda into an eastbound 2014 Toyota, officers arrested him after determining he was intoxicated, police said.

Reyes and the 51-year-old driver of the Toyota were taken to a hospital with serious injuries and were listed in stable condition, police said.

Both vehicles sustained extensive damage.

Police closed the Long Island Expressway in both directions between Exits 36 and 38 after the accident. The exits were reopened around 9:15 a.m.

Minutes before colliding with the Toyota, Reyes was also involved in an crash near Exit 41 with a 2013 Nissan, the police investigation found.

The 31-year-old driver of the Nissan was uninjured, police said.

Reyes is charged with driving while intoxicated, second-degree assault, second-degree vehicular assault, second-degree reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident, police said. He will be arraigned when medically practical.

With Tracy Tullis