Police: Drunken driver smashes into van

An alleged drunken driver traveling at "a high rate of speed" crashed into the back of a van on Sunrise Highway in Islip, pushing it more than 200 feet, flipping it and rupturing the gas tank, a Suffolk County Sheriff's Department spokesman said Wednesday.

Gilmer Maco, 58, was driving a Honda Accord at "a high rate of speed" east on Sunrise at Route 111 on Tuesday at about 11 p.m. when he crashed into the back of the Dodge van, a sheriff's spokesman said. The impact pushed the van more than 200 feet and wedged the car under the van, sheriffs said.

The impact also ruptured the gas tank of the van, though there was no fire, according to sheriffs. Volunteers from the Islip Fire Department responded and used an absorbent material to soak up gasoline from the pavement.

The driver of the van, whose identity was not released, was taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore with neck and back pain.

Maco had broken bones, but his injuries were not life-threatening, the sheriff's department said.

No one other than the drivers were in the vehicles.

Maco was charged with driving while intoxicated after he refused a blood test at Southside, authorities said. Sheriffs said his hometown was not immediately known.

He was issued an appearance ticket and will face arraignment later.