Drunken Driving Charges

A Wainscott woman who East Hampton Town police alleged had been driving drunk left the scene of an accident in which her passenger was injured in East Hampton on July 19. 

According to police, Danielle R. Waleko, 25, was driving a 2018 Volkswagen north on Cove Hollow Road, near Buckskill Road, when she veered off the road and struck a sign post and a tree at about 9:40 p.m. The Volkswagen, owned by Ana P. Waleko of Wainscott, sustained front-end damage.

A witness called police, and Ms. Waleko was stopped and arrested by Sag Harbor Village police just after 11 p.m. She was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated because, police said, she had a blood alcohol level of more than .18. The Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps took her passenger, Heidi Lyn Humes, 46, to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital with a complaint of head pain. 

Ms. Waleko spent the night at police headquarters in Wainscott, and was arraigned before East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana on July 20. She was released on her own recognizance. 

A Miami woman was arrested on drunken driving charges on July 16 after the car she was driving crashed in Montauk. East Hampton Town police found Paula A. Baron, 28, getting out of a 2006 Infiniti at about 10:20 p.m. She had been driving north on East Lake Drive, near Big Reed Path, when she said a deer ran into the roadway. She said she swerved to avoid the deer, drove off the road, and into a row of trees. Police said she appeared intoxicated and was charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.

Police said the sedan, owned by Maria Gesni Espinal-Gomez of Miami, sustained severe damage. Ms. Baron had been wearing a seatbelt and the airbags had deployed. She had an abrasion on her chest, and the Montauk Fire Department ambulance took her to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, where she was treated and released. 

Her passenger, Sammy X. Acevedo-Suarez, 35, was not injured.  

Ms. Baron was held overnight and arraigned before Justice Rana on July 17. She was released on $500 bail. 

Helen R. Garcia Ronquillo, 25, of Central Islip was charged with drunken driving on Friday after police said she drove through two stop signs in Montauk. Police said she failed to stop her 2017 Toyota at the stop sign on Edgemere Street and the Plaza, and then also failed to stop at the sign at the Plaza and Montauk Highway. She was pulled over at about 7:45 p.m., and charged with driving while intoxicated. 

She was held overnight for arraignment in East Hampton Town Justice Court on Saturday, where she was released on $500 bail.