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Police: Long Island Man Crashes Pickup Truck After Overdosing Behind The Wheel

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island man had to be revived after authorities said he overdosed behind the wheel and crashed his pickup truck.

Jon Sepe, 31, was found slumped over with his foot on the gas pedal after crashing his truck into the center median on Sunrise Highway in West Babylon around 5 a.m. Sunday, police said.

Emergency responders determined Sepe was suffering from an overdose after pulling him out of the vehicle and administered Narcan, police said.

"The operator was unconscious with the ignition turned on, so Officer Michael Milo broke the window, was able to reach in turn the vehicle off, he extracted the operator and they were able to administer Narcan and reverse the overdose," Police Chief Stuart Cameron said.

Sepe was transported to a hospital for treatment.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Monday on a charge of driving while ability impaired by drugs.

After a Narcan save, Cameron said police try to get the person into a treatment program.

"We try to get everybody into treatment because that's the best thing, if we can get them into a treatment facility hopefully they can turn their lives around and they'll no longer have to be a problem for law enforcement," Cameron said.

Overdosing while driving has had before in Suffolk County, including a fatal incident in January.

Rosalie Koening, 62, of Mastic, was fatally struck while pumping gas at a Mobil station in Shirley on Jan. 15. Police say a woman driving under the influence missed a turn and crashed into the station, pinning Koening between the gas pump and her Nissan Frontier.

Police said the driver was overdosing on an opioid at the time of the crash and police administered Narcan before taking the driver into custody.

 

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