Reporting Carol D'Auria
NEW YORK (CBS 2/1010 WINS) — In two days, Long Island highways have seen two violent wrong-way collisions.
On Tuesday, an early morning wrong-way crash on the Long Island Expressway left two people hospitalized, CBS 2′s Magee Hickey reported.
The accident occurred just before 5 a.m., when a vehicle entered the eastbound lanes of 4-lane highway at exit 36 – heading westbound.
Katelyn A. O’Connell of Westbury faces a drunken driving charge. O’Connell was expected to be arraigned at a later date on DWI and reckless endangerment charges. It was not immediately known if she was represented by an attorney.
Both O’Connell and an unidentified 27-year-old man, who was driving the other vehicle, were hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.
The crash comes just a day after New York City police Officer Andre Menzies, 35, was killed in a wrong-way crash on the Northern State Parkway. Police said the driver that struck Menzies’ vehicle was charged with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.
Tuesday’s accident was apparently also linked to alcohol. Police said the driver of the wrong-way vehicle was arrested for DUI. The eastbound LIE was closed until about 10:40 a.m. That caused huge backups from Queens into central Nassau County. Both drivers were taken to area hospitals for treatment.
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