Copiague man charged with DWI after crashing into Suffolk police vehicle

A Copiague man was arrested and charged with felony driving while intoxicated after Suffolk County police said he crashed his car into a marked police patrol unit Thursday night on Montauk Highway in Copiague, injuring both himself and a police officer.

The crash occurred on Montauk Highway at Hawkins Boulevard at about 9:45 p.m., police said.

Police said Julio Zelaya, 39, was driving a 2004 Acura TL east on Montauk Highway when he attempted to make a left turn onto Hawkins — colliding with a westbound patrol car driven by Suffolk Police Officer Jordan Tozitsky.

Both Zelaya and Tozitsky, 32, were transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of what police described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Zelaya was arrested and charged with DWI with a previous conviction of the designated offense within 10 years. He faces arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip at a later date, police said. It was not clear if he is represented by counsel.

Additional details were not immediately available.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.