Officials: Driver admitted to drinking 6 beers before deadly crash

<p>A driver was charged with DWI after a head-on crash that left one person dead and others fighting for their lives.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 15, 2018, 9:09 PM

Updated 2,332 days ago

Share:

A driver was charged with DWI after a head-on crash Sunday morning in Greenport that left one person dead and several others fighting for their lives.
Police say 36-year-old Glenn Zalenski, of Greenport, was drunk behind the wheel when he lost control of his pickup truck on Route 48 around 8:30 a.m. and slammed head-on into a minivan.
Police say a woman in the minivan, identified as 51-year-old You Feng Yang, of Flushing, Queens, was killed. Six other people in the minivan, also from Flushing, were injured -- two of them critically.
In court Monday, prosecutors said Zalenski admitted to police that he'd had six beers before getting behind the wheel. They said he was given a Breathalyzer test and got a .21, nearly three times the legal limit.
A witness told officials that Zalenski's pickup truck had swerved to the right, overcorrected and then crossed the double yellow line before plowing into the minivan.
Zalenski has a prior DWI conviction from 2009.
His attorney says his client maintains his innocence.
"I have known Glenn for some time, so we're shocked and saddened this happened," Zalenski's attorney told News 12. "Our condolences do go out to the family and members of the other vehicle, that's something his family wanted us to express as well."
Zalenski pleaded not guilty to a DWI charge at his arraignment in court Monday and was ordered held on $100,000 bail.
Prosecutors have said that the charge may be upgraded to aggravated vehicular homicide because of the fatality in the case.