Driver Arrested on Suspicion of DWI After LIE Crash Injures DOT Worker

Suffolk County Police arrested a man after a single-vehicle crash on the eastbound Long Island Expressway near Exit 63 in Holtsville that left a New York State Department of Transportation employee seriously injured, police said. The crash and arrest occurred Feb. 27, 2026, authorities reported in an initial account.

The arresting agency identified in the police narrative was Suffolk County Police; the account describes the arrest as connected to alleged impairment. The initial report includes the line verbatim: "The arrest was for alleged driving while into" — a phrase that is truncated in the released text. The department has characterized the case as involving suspected driving while intoxicated.

Police and state transportation officials have not released the name, age, or gender of the person taken into custody, nor have they identified the injured NYSDOT employee. The published account notes only that the victim was a New York State Department of Transportation worker and that the worker was "seriously injured" as a result of the crash; no hospital, prognosis, or unit assignment was provided in the initial notification.

Details commonly found in crash reports were not included in the material released so far. The make and model of the vehicle involved, whether the DOT employee was working in a marked NYSDOT vehicle or on the roadway, whether field sobriety testing, breathalyzer, or blood testing were administered, and whether additional charges such as reckless driving or leaving the scene will be filed have not been disclosed by police.

It is not yet clear whether eastbound traffic on the LIE was closed or detoured near Exit 63, or how long any disruption lasted. The Suffolk County Police traffic division typically investigates serious crashes on the expressway; investigators have not yet provided an update on whether surveillance or dash camera footage has been recovered from the Exit 63 area.

Suffolk County Police provided the initial arrest and injury details in their first account but have not released formal charging documents, a booking name, or an arraignment date as of the initial report. New York State Department of Transportation officials also had not issued a statement identifying the injured employee or their condition at the time this account was compiled. Further information, including formal charges and the DOT employee's medical status, remains pending from police and NYSDOT.