A Southampton woman managed to drive away after allegedly causing a three-car accident in the parking lot of the Springs Presbyterian Church on Jan. 26, even though a witness reached inside her car and took the keys out of the ignition. Three hours later, East Hampton Town police stopped Maria L. Assuncao, 52, in Sag Harbor Village and arrested her on a charge of drunken driving.
According to the accident report, Ms. Assuncao, driving a 2018 Toyota sport utility vehicle, veered off Old Stone Highway into the church’s parking lot just before 6:30 p.m. It struck a 2011 Honda pickup truck owned by Juan D. Amayamunera of East Hampton, and pushed it into another vehicle, owned by Mercedes Y. Herrera of East Hampton.
Witnesses rushed to Ms. Assuncao after the accident to see if she was okay, but she attempted to flee. Another driver, who had been behind her on Old Stone Highway and who called 911 before the accident to report that she was driving erratically, followed her into the church lot, and tried to keep her from driving off by grabbing the keys from the ignition.
However, police said, she apparently had a spare set with her. She started the car and drove away, heading north on Springs-Fireplace Road without headlights, witnesses told police.
Town police had issued a “be on the look out” alert for the Toyota. At about 9:20 that night, an officer on patrol in Sag Harbor Village spotted a 2018 Toyota with no tail lamps heading south on Main Street. He pulled the car over just past the Exxon gas station, and reported that he could smell alcohol when he spoke to the driver, Ms. Assunaco.
Town police were notified, and an officer responded to positively identify the car as the one involved in the accident in Springs. Ms. Assunaco was placed under arrest and charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. She was held in the Sag Harbor lockup overnight and released on her own recognizance following a morning arraignment in the village justice court. Town police issued a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident.
Town police also charged two other drivers with D.W.I. following accidents in which both ran into utility poles and left the scene.
On the afternoon of Jan. 18, Joaquin Franco-Cruz, 31, was charged with a felony after sideswiping a vehicle on Montauk Highway in Wainscott, then hitting a utility pole and a fire hydrant. Police said Louis Bourie was stopped in traffic in the eastbound lane when Mr. Franco-Cruz, who was westbound in a 2004 Ford, hit his car. He then lost control of his own vehicle and struck a pole and a hydrant north of the highway.
He got out of his car and began walking north on East Gate Road, according to an officer who saw him as he approached the accident scene.
Mr. Franco-Cruz reportedly appeared intoxicated, and performed poorly on all field sobriety tests, the officer said. Police found he had been convicted of D.W.I. on July 10, 2018, in Southampton, and because of that — a prior conviction within the last 10 years — he was charged with aggravated D.W.I., a felony.
His license was revoked at the time, and had not been restored. He was additionally charged with aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, another felony.
After taking him into custody, police took him to Stony Brook University Hospital for evaluation. He was arraigned on Jan. 23 and released on his own recognizance.
An East Hampton man accused of drunken driving hit a utility pole on Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road in Springs on Jan. 20 and fled, police said. Peter Leitner, 43, was behind the wheel of a 1985 Mercedes-Benz sedan at about 9:10 p.m. when he hit the pole near Folkstone Drive, causing a power outage in the area.
The Mercedes had front end and tire damage, but that did not immediately stop him, police said; he continued driving south, turning right onto Harbor View Lane, where he made a U-turn before coming to a stop. Police found him in the driver’s seat, with the car halfway in the road, engine running. He was not injured.
Mr. Leitner was charged with aggravated D.W.I., a misdemeanor; his blood-alcohol content was reportedly above .18. He was also charged with leaving the scene of an accident and several traffic infractions, and held overnight and arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court last Thursday. Justice Lisa R. Rana released him on his own recognizance.
On Saturday, a Mastic Beach woman was also charged with misdemeanor D.W.I. An officer pulled over Ellen M. Wakefield, 52, driving a 2010 Hyundai on Springs-Fireplace Road at about 7 a.m. She had been driving at 61 miles per hour in a 40 m.p.h. zone there at about 7 a.m., according to police.
She was arrested just after 7:30 a.m., and held throughout the day and overnight for arraignment. Justice Steven Tekulsky released her on her own recognizance on Sunday.