Full Notification

For Immediate Release
July 10, 2018

Incident: Crane Driver Arrested for DWI After Leaving the Scene of an Accident
 
Location: Eastbound Long Island Expressway, West of Exit 57, Hauppauge
 
Date/Time: Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at approximately 6:20 p.m.
 
Suffolk County Police today arrested a man for driving while intoxicated after the crane he was driving hit several cars on the Long Island Expressway just west of exit 57.
 
Brian Sinclair was operating a 2000 Liebherr crane eastbound on the Long Island Expressway in Ronkonkoma when it struck a 1999 Nissan Altima, driven by a 26-year-old man, at approximately 6:20 p.m. The crane then struck a 2015 Jeep Cherokee driven by a 61-year-old man, a 2008 Honda Civic driven by a 22-year-old woman and a 2018 Toyota RAV4 driven by a 53-year-old man. All of the vehicles were heading eastbound at the time of the crash. Sinclair then fled the scene and was spotted driving erratically near exit 60 by a Highway Patrol officer Joseph Goss. The crane slowed down but did not fully stop. Officer Goss jumped into the passenger compartment and ordered the driver to stop. Sinclair stopped the vehicle near exit 63.
 
Officer Goss sustained minor injuries and was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital.
 
The driver of the Nissan sustained minor injuries and was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital. The driver of the Jeep refused medical attention. The driver of the Honda was transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, with minor injuries and the driver of the Toyota was also transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, with minor injuries.
 
Sinclair, 47, of 9 Colonial Drive, Riverhead, was arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated and Leaving the Scene of an Accident. The crane was impounded.
 
Sinclair will be held overnight at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on July 11.
 
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
 
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Authority: Geraldine Hart, Commissioner  18-369873
Suffolk County Police Department EB/2250