Centereach man indicted after drunk-driving crash injured DOT worker

Roadside work on the Long Island Expressway turned into a life-threatening scene near Exit 63 in Holtsville when a Centereach driver allegedly ignored a marked closure and struck a New York State Department of Transportation worker who was helping clear debris.

Suffolk County prosecutors said Joseph Kalinowski, 54, was indicted on nine counts led by aggravated vehicular assault after the Feb. 26 crash, which happened at about 10:30 p.m. as he was driving eastbound on the LIE from Jericho toward Centereach. Prosecutors said Kalinowski was behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry and drove past a road closure marked by emergency vehicles and traffic-control devices before hitting the worker in the protected area. He was arraigned Wednesday before County Court Judge Bryan L. Browns and ordered to supervised release.

The injured worker was Randolph Acum, 47, of Mastic, who was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital with a traumatic brain injury and a fractured arm. Police said Acum had been responding to an overturned-vehicle crash when he was struck while placing traffic cones on the roadway. His DOT truck, a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado, had been parked behind the overturned vehicle as crews handled the scene.

The indictment gives the case its weight: aggravated vehicular assault in Suffolk means prosecutors are alleging impaired driving that caused serious injury in a way that rises far beyond a routine traffic offense. Kalinowski also faces charges of assault in the second degree, vehicular assault in the first and second degrees, aggravated driving while intoxicated, two counts of driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment in the second degree, and reckless driving. If convicted of the top count, he faces five to 15 years in prison. Assistant District Attorney Alexander Bopp is prosecuting the case, and Detective Travis Pfeffer of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Sixth Squad investigated.

The crash also lands in a broader safety problem that Suffolk drivers see every year on major roads and work corridors. New York said there were 572 work-zone crashes on state roads in 2025, causing 87 injuries and three deaths. On the Long Island Expressway, where lane shifts, closures and cleanup crews can appear with little warning, the difference between a close call and a felony can come down to a single decision behind the wheel. Kalinowski is due back in court on June 3.