A Riverhead man was arrested on a charge of felony driving while intoxicated late Sunday night on Nugent Drive, Riverhead Town Police said in a press release this morning.
Police said Riverhead police conducted a traffic stop on Nugent Drive near the Riverside traffic circle and determined the operator of a 2005 Toyota Camry, Jonnathan Vinicio Cardenas-Arias, 30, of Riverhead, was intoxicated. A 6-year-old girl was a passenger in the vehicle, police said.
The vehicle operator was charged with Driving While Intoxicated under Leandra’s Law, which makes it a felony to drive while intoxicated or impaired with a passenger under age 16. He was also charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
Leandra’s Law, also known as the Child Passenger Protection Act, was enacted in 2009, is named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, of the Bronx, who was killed in October 2009 in a crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan. Leandra was one of seven children in the vehicle operated by a drunk driver. The operator of the vehicle was subsequently convicted of second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison.
Anyone charged with DWI or driving while impaired with a passenger under age 16 is automatically charged with a Class E Felony, a crime punishable by up to 4 years in state prison.
Cardenas-Arias was processed at police headquarters and held for morning arraignment.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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