Wrong-way driver, speeder charged with DWI
Cops say Kristy Biswas, 33, was going eastbound in a westbound lane of the Long Island Expressway. Credit: Suffolk County Sheriff's Department
A wrong-way driver and another driver who said he fell asleep with his car going 110 mph were arrested overnight in separate drunken driving cases within hours of each other on the Long Island Expressway, Suffolk County sheriffs said Friday.
Kristy Biswas, 33, of New Jersey, was going east on the westbound lanes by Exit 48 near the Nassau border when a pickup driver intervened just before 2:30 a.m. Friday, said Michael Sharkey, chief of staff for the Suffolk sheriff's office.
"He caught her attention somehow," Sharkey said. "When she slowed down, he blocked her in."
Biswas was stopped in the HOV lane, he said, and told sheriff's deputies that she had a vodka and tonic.
Sharkey said Biswas had a blood-alcohol level of .20 percent. The legal limit is .08 percent.
She was arraigned Friday afternoon on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, operating a vehicle the wrong way on a one-way street and not having car insurance, Sharkey said. She was released on a $1,000 cash bail, he said.
In the other case, Kamil Duda, 34, of Farmingville, was speeding east on the expressway when he crashed into another car by Exit 58, sheriffs said. The crash occurred about 11:39 p.m. Thursday, sheriffs said.
There were no serious injuries. The driver of the other car was taken to a hospital for a checkup, Sharkey said.
Duda said he had two beers and fell asleep, Sharkey said. "I don't know how he fell asleep at 110 miles per hour."
A breath test found he had a blood-alcohol level of .17 percent, the sheriffs said.
Duda was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, speeding, failure to signal and unsafe lane change. He was given a $5,000 bond or $2,500 cash bail in First District Court in Central Islip.
