Southampton Blotter: Riverside man charged with DWI in head-on collision

A Riverside man was charged with driving while intoxicated following a head-on collision with a truck — and another accident prior to that — in Hampton Bays Friday night, Southampton Town Police said.

The two accidents sent a total of six people to local hospitals and caused traffic to be diverted around a section of Montauk Highway for several hours, authorities said.

Police said Marvin Cardona-Lopez, 30, of Riverside was heading west on Montauk Highway near the Edgewater Restaurant in a Ford Explorer SUV when he tried to pass a vehicle on the road’s shoulder, lost control of his car, sideswiped a smaller sedan and continued driving west.

The driver of the sedan, identified by police only as a 33-year-old Hampton Bays woman, was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of what police described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Mr. Cardona-Lopez continued west and then crossed into oncoming traffic just west of the intersection with Canoe Place Road, where he collided head-on with an eastbound 2004 Chevy Silverado dump truck.

There were four people in the truck, including a 25-year-old male driver from Hampton Bays, a 6-year-old boy, a 32-year-old Hampton Bays man and a 31-year-old Hampton Bays woman, police said.

The female passenger was seriously injured and was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital. The other three were taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Mr. Cardona-Lopez and a 28-year-old male passenger in his car were also taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 702-2230 or the Crime Tips hotline at 728-3454.

• Melissa Romano, 18, of Harbor Drive in Lido Beach was charged with DWI and following too close at 1:45 a.m. Saturday near the Peconic Avenue traffic circle in Riverside, where she was pulled over for tailgating and found to be intoxicated, police said.

• Ronnie Meyers, 42, of Booker Drive in Riverhead was charged with DWI about 2:30 a.m. on Flanders Road and Ludlam Avenue in Riverside. He was pulled over for failing to stay in his lane and was found to be intoxicated, police said. He also was charged with moving from a lane unsafely and not having a plate lamp, police said.

• Judy Klempner, 57, of Downer Place in Sag Harbor was charged with DWI about 10:30 p.m. Sunday on Flanders Road in Flanders. Officials said she was found unresponsive behind the wheel of a gray 2002 Honda in a no standing zone, and was in possession of a bottle of white wine. After interviewing her, an officer found that her breath smelled of alcohol and she was intoxicated, police said.

• Chris Stewart, 64, of Wildwood Trail in Northampton was charged with DWI Friday night, Dec. 23, on Flanders Road in Riverside, where he was involved in a motor vehicle accident and showed signs of being intoxicated, such as glassy eyes and alcohol on his breath, police said.

• Thomas Calhoun, 41, of West Main Street in Riverhead was charged with DWI and leaving the scene of accident about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 25, on Flanders Road in Riverside. Mr. Calhoun was involved in a car accident and attempted to leave the scene, according to police, who said he showed poor coordination and had alcohol on his breath.

• A Southampton woman reported last Wednesday that a gray pickup truck pulled in front of her car as she was heading south on Flanders Road and then hit the brakes, according to police. The woman then flicked her lights and the driver tapped his brakes again once the two cars reached the traffic light by Old Riverhead Road in Hampton Bays. At this point, a female passenger got out of the truck and broke the woman’s passenger side mirror, according to police, who said the victim then turned around and went to the police station to report the incident.

• Someone spray-painted a black stripe around three cars in the same driveway on Maple Avenue in Flanders last Monday morning, according to police.

• A computer and a television were reported stolen from a home on Point Road in Flanders Saturday. The estimated value of the stolen items was not given by police.

• A Flanders woman reported Saturday, Dec. 24, that someone shattered the front windshield and passenger side window of her car, which was parked in her driveway on Cedar Avenue.

• A Mastic Beach man reported Wednesday, Dec. 21, that someone had illegally used his credit card from Suffolk Federal Credit Union in Riverside to make two unauthorized purchases totaling $502, according to police.

Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.