Suffolk County police arrested 52-year-old Sean Durham on Thursday night for driving while intoxicated with a 15-year-old child in the car. (Credit: Suffolk County Police)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police have charged a 52-year-old man for driving while intoxicated with a child in the car on Thursday night on Long Island.
Suffolk County police stopped Sean Durham at 8:35 p.m. on Jericho Turnpike near Calvert Avenue in Commack for erratic driving and a malfunctioning tail light.
Upon pulling Durham over, an officer determined that Durham was intoxicated and arrested him. The officer also found cocaine in his possession and learned that Durham’s 15-year-old daughter was in the car.
Because she’s 15, police charged Durham under Leandra’s Law, which makes it a felony to drive drunk with a child under the age of 16 in the car.
In addition to aggravated DWI with a child in the vehicle under Leandra’s Law, police charged Durham with endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance for cocaine.
The daughter was placed with a family member, police said.
Durham, meanwhile, is scheduled for arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip on Friday.
Leandra’s Law is named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who was killed when her friend’s mother overturned the van she was driving while drunk on the Henry Hudson Parkway in 2009.
How effective has Leandra’s Law been since it became a law? Tell us in our comments section.
