Cops: Centereach man impaired by drugs when vehicle hit pedestrian
Suffolk County police arrested a Centereach man Saturday night and charged him with driving while impaired by drugs after a crash in which he struck and critically injured a pedestrian in Nesconset, authorities said.
Jesse Santucci, 42, was driving a 2018 Audi A6 northbound on Rosevale Avenue, near Smithtown Boulevard, at about 8 p.m. when the vehicle allegedly struck a man walking northbound on the shoulder of the roadway, police said.
The pedestrian, Kevin Hartnett, 26, of Ronkonkoma, was transported by ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he remains in critical condition, police said.
Santucci was held overnight and is scheduled to be arraigned Sunday.
Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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