Cops: Trooper witnessed drunken driver crash

January 31, 2012 by GARY DYMSKI / gary.dymski@newsday.com

An Amityville man faces a felony drunken driving charge after a trooper saw him crash his car into an embankment Friday on the Southern State Parkway in North Massapequa, State Police said.

Police said the trooper saw Shane Lewis, 29, driving a tan Nissan Maxima west on the parkway near Exit 30, Broadway, at about 8:34 p.m.

Lewis lost control, driving off the roadway into an embankment, police said.

The trooper noticed an odor of alcoholic beverage on Lewis as he interviewed him, according to a news release.

Lewis failed sobriety tests, provided a breath-analyzer reading of .25 percent, was arrested and faces a DWI charge, police said.

Police said Lewis has a previous DWI conviction in the last 10 years, making the current charge a felony.

He is scheduled to appear March 9 in First District Court in Hempstead.