Setauket teen arrested after DWI crash seriously injures passenger in Holbrook

Kayla Lopez, 19, of Stony Brook, was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious injuries after a crash on the eastbound Long Island Expressway in Holbrook that Suffolk County police said involved a Setauket teen driving while intoxicated.

Police identified the driver as Olibia Perez-Bonilla, 18, of 5 Settlers Way in Setauket. Investigators said she was driving a 2003 Honda Accord at about 12:22 a.m. Friday, April 17, 2026, when the car hit the center median and then struck the barrier on the right side of the roadway between Exits 61 and 62.

Perez-Bonilla was also taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said. She was arrested on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated and was scheduled to be arraigned later. Suffolk County police noted that a criminal charge is an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The crash turned a late-night drive on one of Suffolk County’s busiest highways into a serious injury case with lasting medical and legal consequences. The passenger’s condition, the driver’s arrest, and the damage to the car all point to how quickly an impaired-driving crash can move from a traffic stop concern to a hospital and courtroom matter.

The Long Island Expressway corridor through Holbrook remains a high-risk stretch because it carries heavy traffic across Suffolk and leaves little margin for error. A single impact with a median or barrier can send a vehicle bouncing across lanes in seconds, and the overnight timing can make the scene even more dangerous when visibility is lower and drivers are less able to react.

The broader public health stakes extend far beyond this crash. The New York State Department of Health says motor vehicle traffic injuries are a major public health problem and the leading cause of injury-related death in the state, with about three New Yorkers dying every day in traffic-related crashes. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for U.S. teens, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 2,611 deaths in crashes involving a teen driver ages 15 to 18 in 2023.

In Suffolk, those numbers have real faces and addresses. In this case, the legal process now follows a crash that left a 19-year-old passenger seriously hurt, and a routine trip on the LIE ended in an arrest, hospitalization and a case that will unfold in Central Islip.