Drunk Driver Crashes BMW Into Central Islip Home, No Injuries Reported

A BMW X6 SUV crashed through the front of a home on Nostrand Avenue in Central Islip around 2:10 a.m. Sunday after the driver allegedly lost control while traveling south on Birchgrove Drive, Suffolk County police said. Six children were sleeping inside at the time, the youngest just two months old. No one in the house was hurt.

Suffolk County police identified the driver as Estefany DeJesus, 30, also of Central Islip. According to police, DeJesus was speeding southbound on Birchgrove Drive when she lost control, jumped the curb and slammed into the Nostrand Avenue house. The front half of the BMW ended up inside the home, the rear wheels suspended above the ground with the back half sticking out onto the lawn. Fire marshals and a town building inspector responded to evaluate the structural damage, which photos from the scene showed included a gaping hole in the front of the home.

Johana Moreno, a resident of the house, described the moment of impact. "The window like exploded," she said. Her sister Selina recounted how her husband woke to the crash and immediately called 911. The car had come to rest just feet from Johana's bedroom.

The situation grew more alarming after the initial impact. Selina told ABC7 that DeJesus hit the gas instead of the brake, pushing the vehicle further into the home. "She was screaming," Selina said. "I told her, 'calm down, calm down!'"

DeJesus was taken to South Shore University Hospital for evaluation after officers on scene determined she was intoxicated. She was charged with driving while intoxicated and arraigned Sunday at First District Court in Central Islip, where she pleaded not guilty. Court records indicate she was released under non-monetary conditions. She was represented by the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society.

The crash drew firefighters, police, and building officials to the Nostrand Avenue address in the early morning hours. Scene photos showed two firefighters alongside the heavily damaged gray BMW, its roof and side panels crushed from the collision. The vehicle was described as totaled.

On Long Island, a traffic crash causing death, injury or significant property damage occurs on average every seven minutes, according to a Newsday investigation that found more than 2,100 people were killed and more than 16,000 seriously injured in crashes between 2014 and 2023. Sunday's wreck on Nostrand Avenue added structural ruin to that toll while, by a narrow margin, leaving a household full of children unharmed.