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Long Island Teen Charged With Drunken Go-Kart Driving

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Long Island man has been charged with driving a go-kart while drunk and carrying an underage passenger.

It happened on West Neck Road in Shelter Island around 4am on Thursday. Police said 18-year-old Lennon Sarfarti was driving a go-kart with two of his friends, a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl, when he was stopped by police. Police said his breath test exceeded the .08 percent level for drunkenness.

WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reports: Legal Expert Questions Leandra's Law Charge Against Teen

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Sarfarti was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and felony driving while intoxicated charges under  a 2009 state statute known as Leandra's Law, which calls for up to four years in prison for driving while drunk with a minor in the vehicle.

But legal expert Vincent Trimarco Jr. questions the felony charge. "The statute was made to protect children from being driven around by drunk adults, not a bunch of kids on a go-kart in the middle of the night," said Trimarco. "However, did they do something stupid and should something happen to him? Absolutely."

Sarfarti has been arraigned and bail was set at $10,000.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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