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An East Hampton Town Police officer was arrested and charged with DWI early Tuesday morning after he crashed his vehicle into a utility pole in Hampton Bays.
Southampton Town Police responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident shortly after 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning, April 29, on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays.
Officers found that a red Jeep Gladiator had crashed into a utility pole in front of 1 North Steakhouse, breaking the pole off at the base and bringing down the power transmission equipment connected to it.
Southampton Town Police say the driver of the vehicle, Luis Morales, 39, of East Hampton, was found to be intoxicated and was placed under arrest. Morales had suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment.
He has been charged with misdemeanor DWI, but has yet to be arraigned in Southampton Town Justice Court.
Morales has been an East Hampton Town Police officer since 2016.
East Hampton Police Chief Michael Sarlo said on Tuesday that Morales was placed on administrative leave until a formal internal affairs investigation of the incident can be conducted.
The crash took out three power transformers on a utility pole that knocked out power to a commercial building for most of the day Tuesday.
