A 28-year-old driver was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs after police said his car struck a man who had gotten out of his vehicle on the Long Island Expressway in Melville early Sunday, seriously injuring him.
Paven Putt Bhat, 27, of Center Moriches, was driving a 2025 Nissan Altima eastbound in the HOV lane near Exit 50 at about 5:50 a.m. Sept. 13 when the car struck the median, Suffolk County police said.
Bhat got out of the vehicle to inspect the damage and was then struck by a 2019 Honda Civic driven by Cristian Guevara, police said.
Bhat was taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip with serious injuries.
Police said Guevara and his passenger, John Hurtado-Conde, were found in possession of narcotics.
Guevara was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, third- and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia.
Hurtado-Conde, 31, of Flanders, was charged with third- and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia.
Guevara and Hurtado-Conde were being held overnight at the Third Precinct and were scheduled for arraignment Sept. 14 at First District Court in Central Islip.
The charges are accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
