Cops: Shots fired early Saturday in E. Islip

A Brentwood woman was charged with drunken driving after she crashed her car in East Islip early Saturday morning while rushing a gunshot victim to the hospital, Suffolk County police said.

The chaotic series of events began shortly after 3 a.m. when fisticuffs involving 10 to 15 people erupted outside Norton's Bar and Grill on Connetquot Avenue in East Islip.

Multiple gunshots were fired at 3:10 a.m. and Jovan Bailey, 24, also of Brentwood, was struck several times, including in the leg and abdomen, police said.

Bailey escaped from the scene in a car, a 2007 gray Honda Accord driven by Nyasha Hunter, 21. But about five minutes later the car crashed on the way to the hospital, slamming into the stanchion of the overpass on the westbound side of the Sunrise Highway Service Road at Saxon Avenue.

Bailey was eventually transported by ambulance to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore where he underwent surgery and was listed in serious condition.

Hunter, 21, and two other passengers in the vehicle were also taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, where they were treated for bumps and bruises. Hunter was later charged with driving while intoxicated. All were still hospitalized as of late Saturday afternoon, and she'll be arraigned at some point in the future.

Hunter was tested for intoxication but the results were not made public Saturday.

Hunter and Bailey are acquaintances, police said.

Det. Sgt. Tony Lavista of Suffolk's Third Squad detectives, based in Bay Shore, declined to say whether detectives have any suspect or suspects in mind, but said police were looking to find out what precipitated the fight and determine the motive for the shooting.

"We're looking to see exactly what transpired before and after this, who the people are involved in this incident -- and obviously who did it," Lavista said.

Police asked anyone who wants to share information about the case to call the squad at 631-854-8352.