Wrong-way driver charged with DWI

A wrong-way driver on the Southern State Parkway Saturday morning who passed through an accident scene faces drunken-driving charges, State Police said.

Juan A. Rodriguez, 58, of Middle Island, allegedly was driving west in the eastbound lanes of the parkway near Exit 42, Fifth Avenue, in Brentwood, when police stopped him in the center median, according to a news release.

Troopers had responded to a one-car accident on the eastbound parkway at about 3:30 a.m., just west of Exit 43, Route 111, in East Islip, and were notified by radio from the Farmingdale branch that a wrong-way driver was heading toward the scene.

As one trooper stayed at the accident scene, another pursued Rodriguez, driving a 2006 Mercedes. Rodriguez had passed through the accident scene, where traffic was being monitored, before being stopped, police said.

He was arrested, found to be intoxicated and transported to the Farmingdale base, where he provided a breath-analyzer sample of .12 percent, police said. A blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or above is considered intoxicated.

Rodriguez is charged with DWI, reckless endangerment and several traffic violations. He was scheduled to be arraigned Saturday at First District Court in Central Islip.

Since Nov. 15 of last year, when a wrong-way driver on the Northern State Parkway hit a car driven by New York City Police Officer Andre Menzies, 35, killing him, law enforcement agencies on Long Island have arrested 18 wrong-way drivers.