Police: Drunken man drove wrong way on LIE for 12 miles, crashed

<p>A man is accused of driving drunk in the wrong direction on the Long Island Expressway for 12 miles before a crash that injured himself and another driver.</p>

News 12 Staff

May 22, 2017, 11:35 AM

Updated 2,691 days ago

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A man is accused of driving drunk in the wrong direction on the Long Island Expressway for 12 miles before a crash that injured himself and another driver
According to Suffolk police radio transmissions, the incident began around 3:40 a.m. Monday in Brentwood. It was there that officers first spotted the man, identified as 41-year-old John Durant, heading in the wrong direction on the south service road by Washington Avenue.
Officers followed the car and tried to get ahead of it to prevent a collision, but police say Durant got onto the expressway at Wicks Road.
According to the recordings, officers tried to catch up with Durant as they warned Nassau officials that the wrong-way driver was heading their way.
The incident ended 12 miles down the road in Plainview, when Durant slammed his SUV into a Nissan Altima that was driven by a 24-year-old Medford woman. Her car sustained extensive damage to the driver's side, but she suffered only minor injuries and has since been released from the hospital.
Durant, of Pelham, New York, was also hospitalized and was placed under arrest. He's charged with DWI and reckless endangerment.
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