Man Drives Drunk With 12-Year-Old Son In Car In Suffolk: Police

COMMACK, NY — A man was arrested after Suffolk police said he drove drunk while his 12-year-old son was in the car Saturday night in Commack. Scott Holmgren, 38, of Dix Hills, faces multiple charges.

A 911 caller reported seeing a 2001 Honda Accord driving erratically southbound on Larkfield Road at 10:40 p.m., police said. A Selective Alcohol Fatality Enforcement Team (SAFE-T) officer found the vehicle minutes later and initiated a traffic stop, police said. The officer determined Holmgren was intoxicated and saw a 12-year-old boy in the backseat, police said. Holmgren was arrested, the vehicle was impounded and the 12-year-old was released to the custody of a family member at the scene, police said.

Holmgren was charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child passenger 15-years-old or younger under Leandra’s Law, and endangering the welfare of a child. He was held overnight at the Second Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Sunday.

Leandra's Law is a felony charge given to people who drive drunk while a child under 16 is in the car. The law was named in memory of 11-year-old Leandra Rosado who was killed when an SUV she and seven other children were riding in crashed on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan in October 2009, according to the state. Leandra was the only person to die in the crash. Her father championed the law.