Wrong-way driver found sleeping on side of Sunrise Highway with car running, Suffolk sheriff says

An accused drunken driver traveling the wrong way on Sunrise Highway in Islip late Wednesday night was arrested by a Suffolk sheriff’s deputy, who found the man asleep on the side of the road inside his still-running vehicle, authorities said Thursday.

Luis Lopez Ramirez, 31, of Farmingville, was spotted driving east in the westbound lanes by a deputy at 11:56 p.m., according to a news release from the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office. The deputy had been driving eastbound in the eastbound lanes, but turned into the westbound lanes, where Ramirez’s vehicle — still facing the wrong direction — was pulled over, authorities said.

Ramirez was asleep behind the wheel of the vehicle and the engine was running and in gear, authorities said, but Ramirez’s foot was on the brake. The deputy put the vehicle in park.

Ramirez, who after being woken up by deputies "showed signs of intoxication," was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and driving the wrong way. He took a chemical breath test which registered a blood alcohol content of .17, well above the legal threshold of .08 for driving, the sheriff’s office said.

A defense attorney for Ramirez could not be reached for comment.

Suffolk Sheriff’s deputies also arrested two other alleged drunken driving suspects in separate instances Wednesday night: Manuel Lojanoguallpa, 40, of Patchogue, NY, and Travis O’Shaughnessy, 39, of Brooklyn, NY. Attorneys for Lojanoguallpa and O'Shaughnessy could not be reached.

"The Deputies from the Sheriff’s Proactive Impaired Driving Reduction Effort (SPIDRE) Team are out on the roads every night on the lookout for impaired drivers," Sheriff Errol Toulon said in a statement. "If you are out enjoying our county’s fine restaurants and bars, please do not get behind the wheel. Call a friend, call an Uber, or have a designated driver. Drive drunk in Suffolk County and you’ll get a ride from us … to jail."

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.