Cops: Man driving with 3 young sons charged under Leandra's Law

Nassau County police have arrested a Middletown man under Leandra's Law on charges of driving drunk with his three sons unbuckled in the backseat early Sunday in North Hills.

An officer patrolling the westbound lanes of the Long Island Expressway saw Kingsley C. Chukwu, 45, swerving his 2009 Honda in and out of lanes, police said.

After he was pulled over, police determined Chukwu was driving under the influence of alcohol with his three sons, all under age 6, unrestrained in the backseat.

Chukwu was charged with three counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child in the vehicle, known as Leandra's Law, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of DWI and numerous traffic violations.

The children's 38-year-old mother was in the front seat.

No injuries were reported and the children were released to their mother. Chukwu's vehicle was impounded, authorities said.

At his arraignment Sunday in First District Court in Hempstead, Chukwu's bail was set at $2,000 cash or $4,000 bond. No date had been set for his next appearance. His bail had not been posted by 4 p.m.

Leandra's Law makes it a felony, even on the first offense, to drive drunk with a child 15 or younger in the vehicle. The law was spurred by the Oct. 11, 2009, death of Leandra Rosado, 11, of Manhattan, in a car accident on the Henry Hudson Parkway. The girl was on her way to a slumber party in a car driven by Carmen Huertas, the mother of one of Leandra's friends. Huertas had a blood-alcohol level of 0.132 percent and pleaded guilty to 16 counts, including drunken driving and second-degree manslaughter.