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| Greenport minivan crash leaves 1 dead, 6 injured, Southold police say One person was killed and six others were injured Sunday morning when a pickup truck struck a minivan in Greenport, Southold Town police said. The pickup driver was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, police said. (Credit: Stringer News Service) |
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| Greenport minivan crash leaves 1 dead, 6 injured, Southold police say One person was killed and six others were injured Sunday morning when a pickup truck struck a minivan in Greenport, Southold Town police said. The pickup driver was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, police said. (Credit: Stringer News Service) |
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| Glenn Zaleski of Greenport enters Southold Town Justice Court on Monday, where he was arraigned on a charge of driving while intoxicated after a fatal crash. Photo Credit: James Carbone |
Updated July 16, 2018 5:18 PM
The motorist who drove head-on into a minivan in Greenport early Sunday, killing one person and injuring six others, was charged with driving while intoxicated Monday, prosecutors said.
His attorney said he expects the man will soon face more serious charges.
Glenn Zaleski, 36, of Greenport, pleaded not guilty to DWI during an arraignment in Southold Town Justice Court Monday. Judge Eileen Powers set bail at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond. Zaleski is scheduled to return to court Friday.
Zaleski’s attorney, Anthony Rutkowski of Southampton, said he expects the judge will increase bail once additional charges are filed related to the death of the minivan driver, You Feng Yang, 51, of Flushing, and the injuries of the other passengers.
“The first thing he [Zaleski] and his family did was express their condolences to the people in the minivan,” Rutkowski said. “This is obviously horrible and tragic.”
A criminal complaint said Zaleski had previously been convicted of driving while intoxicated in 2009 in Southold.
“The defendant’s eyes were red and glassy, his breath smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage,” according to the criminal complaint filed Monday.
Lt. James Ginas, a spokesman for the Southold police, said field sobriety tests were done at the scene, but Zaleski’s blood-alcohol content was not yet available.
“We are working closely with the Southold Police Department to thoroughly investigate this horrific crash, and that investigation is ongoing,” District Attorney Tim Sini said.
Ginas said Zaleski was driving eastbound on Route 48 near Moores Lane when his 2016 Dodge pickup veered into the westbound lane and hit the minivan.
Police said a minivan and pickup truck collided Sunday on Route 48 in Greenport and several people were taken to a hospital. Photo Credit: Randee Daddona
Yang was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead about two hours after the 8:34 a.m. crash, Ginas said.
The six passengers in the minivan, all from Flushing, were identified by police as: Yan An Huang, 52; Wang Shilin, 52; Ping Li, 54; Yan Hong Han, 44; Tong Jun Qu, 46 and Chunxia Lui, 44. Ginas said they suffered from various injuries, including broken bones and severe bleeding.
Some of the injured were airlifted to the Stony Brook hospital, while others were taken by ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead and Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, Ginas said.
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The motorist who drove head-on into a minivan in Greenport early Sunday, killing one person and injuring six others, was charged with driving while intoxicated Monday, prosecutors said.
His attorney said he expects the man will soon face more serious charges.
Glenn Zaleski, 36, of Greenport, pleaded not guilty to DWI during an arraignment in Southold Town Justice Court Monday. Judge Eileen Powers set bail at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond. Zaleski is scheduled to return to court Friday.
Zaleski’s attorney, Anthony Rutkowski of Southampton, said he expects the judge will increase bail once additional charges are filed related to the death of the minivan driver, You Feng Yang, 51, of Flushing, and the injuries of the other passengers.
“The first thing he [Zaleski] and his family did was express their condolences to the people in the minivan,” Rutkowski said. “This is obviously horrible and tragic.”
A criminal complaint said Zaleski had previously been convicted of driving while intoxicated in 2009 in Southold.
“The defendant’s eyes were red and glassy, his breath smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage,” according to the criminal complaint filed Monday.
Lt. James Ginas, a spokesman for the Southold police, said field sobriety tests were done at the scene, but Zaleski’s blood-alcohol content was not yet available.
“We are working closely with the Southold Police Department to thoroughly investigate this horrific crash, and that investigation is ongoing,” District Attorney Tim Sini said.
Ginas said Zaleski was driving eastbound on Route 48 near Moores Lane when his 2016 Dodge pickup veered into the westbound lane and hit the minivan.
Police said a minivan and pickup truck collided Sunday on Route 48 in Greenport and several people were taken to a hospital. Photo Credit: Randee Daddona Yang was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead about two hours after the 8:34 a.m. crash, Ginas said.
The six passengers in the minivan, all from Flushing, were identified by police as: Yan An Huang, 52; Wang Shilin, 52; Ping Li, 54; Yan Hong Han, 44; Tong Jun Qu, 46 and Chunxia Lui, 44. Ginas said they suffered from various injuries, including broken bones and severe bleeding.
Some of the injured were airlifted to the Stony Brook hospital, while others were taken by ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead and Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, Ginas said.
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GREENPORT, Long Island (WABC) --
One
woman was killed and six people injured when an allegedly drunk driver
slammed his car into a packed van on Long Island Sunday morning.The crash happened just after 8:30 a.m. on Route 48 near Moores Lane in Greenport. Prosecutors say Glenn Zaleski admitted to drinking six beers prior to the accident.
The crash left the minivan in ruins, killing the driver -- 51-year-old You Feng Yang, from Flushing -- and injured her six passengers.
"There was definitely a smell of alcohol at the scene," Southold Town police Chief Martin Flatley said.
Investigators say Zaleski swerved and lost control, veering into oncoming traffic before hitting the van head on.
"The defendant's eyes were red and glassy," the arresting officer said. "His breath smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage."
Assistant District Attorney Ray Varuolo, of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, stated in court that the preliminary pre-screen breath test found Zaleski's blood alcohol content to be .21 and that the results of a blood test are pending.
Zeleski has a prior DWI conviction from 2009, which is listed on the complaint. Since he has a prior DWI conviction within the past 10 years, he is now charged with DWI as a felony.
"We are shocked and saddened this happened," his attorney, Anthony Rutkowski, said. "Our condolences go out to the family and other members in the vehicle. We'll have to wait and see. This is something his family wanted us to express as well. We'll just have to wait for the court process to play out."
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GREENPORT, Long Island -
A driver was charged with DWI after a head-on crash Sunday morning in Greenport that left one person dead and several others fighting for their lives.
Police say 36-year-old Glenn Zalenski, of Greenport, was drunk behind the wheel when he lost control of his pickup truck on Route 48 around 8:30 a.m. and slammed head-on into a minivan.
Police say a woman in the minivan, identified as 51-year-old You Feng Yang, of Flushing, Queens, was killed. Six other people in the minivan, also from Flushing, were injured -- two of them critically.
In court Monday, prosecutors said Zalenski admitted to police that he'd had six beers before getting behind the wheel. They said he was given a Breathalyzer test and got a .21, nearly three times the legal limit.
A witness told officials that Zalenski's pickup truck had swerved to the right, overcorrected and then crossed the double yellow line before plowing into the minivan.
Zalenski has a prior DWI conviction from 2009.
His attorney says his client maintains his innocence.
"I have known Glenn for some time, so we're shocked and saddened this happened," Zalenski's attorney told News 12. "Our condolences do go out to the family and members of the other vehicle, that's something his family wanted us to express as well."
Zalenski pleaded not guilty to a DWI charge at his arraignment in court Monday and was ordered held on $100,000 bail.
Prosecutors have said that the charge may be upgraded to aggravated vehicular homicide because of the fatality in the case.