Water Mill crash leads to DWI arrest after driver fled scene

A two-car crash in Water Mill turned into a criminal case after police said one driver left the scene, a reminder that a collision on Montauk Highway can quickly become a DWI arrest with lasting legal consequences.

Southampton Town Police responded to Montauk Highway and Proprietors Road at about 8 p.m. Friday after a report of a two-vehicle crash. Police said one vehicle allegedly headed eastbound before officers arrived, turning what could have been a routine traffic investigation into a search for a fleeing driver.

A patrol officer in Sagaponack later spotted a driver failing to stay in lane shortly after the crash, according to the report. That traffic stop led police to determine the driver was intoxicated. The arrested driver was identified as Marco F. Pineda Pineda, 36.

Authorities said Pineda Pineda was taken to police headquarters for processing and held for morning arraignment at Southampton Town Justice Court. The reported charges include DWI, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, and several traffic violations.

No injuries were reported, but the crash still carried public-safety weight in a corridor that serves Hamptons commuters, local residents, and weekend traffic. Montauk Highway is one of the South Fork’s main east-west roads, and when a driver leaves after a crash, police lose immediate access to the people and vehicles needed to piece together what happened. That can complicate reconstruction and delay accountability.

Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 600, leaving the scene of an accident is a separate offense from DWI, and penalties depend on whether the crash involved property damage, injury, serious physical injury, or death. Even in property-damage cases, the charge can add another layer of legal exposure beyond the driving-while-intoxicated allegation.

The case also fits a pattern local officials continue to confront. Suffolk County Police Department crime statistics remain publicly tracked, and Southampton Town’s public-information listings continue to show recurring DWI-related enforcement in 2026. In a place where one bad decision can affect other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians in seconds, a late-night crash on Montauk Highway became more than a traffic report. It became another example of how fleeing the scene can escalate a dangerous mistake into a broader criminal case.