Newsday: Suffolk County officials argue for tougher drugged driving laws

By Joe Werkmeister | April 18, 2025

Suffolk County officials, joined by state lawmakers and the families of victims killed by impaired drivers, advocated Friday in support of stronger drugged driving laws that they said will close a loophole and help prevent future tragedies.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, in her 2025 State of the State proposed changes to the state’s drugged driving laws that would expand prosecutable substances and add penalties for refusal to participate in testing.

At a news conference at the H. Lee Dennison building in Hauppauge, a bipartisan group of elected officials called for Albany leaders to support the changes included in the pending state budget. Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, a Republican, said Suffolk County averages 150 fatalities per year due to traffic collisions, based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, a Republican, said current law requires law enforcement to pinpoint the specific drug an impaired driver has used and that the drug must be included on a public health law list.

"If it’s not on that list, can’t be charged," he said. "That is a ridiculous law."

He said the expansive number and types of drugs available make it hard for law enforcement to keep up. New York is one of only four states that limits drugged driving to such a list, the district attorney said.

Tierney’s office has advocated for similar legislation in the state Senate and Assembly.

Romaine said other states have already adopted similar legislation, so "we don’t have to reinvent the wheel."

Kevin Catalina, the Suffolk County police commissioner, said there are challenges for officers to determine when and if a driver is impaired by drugs. Someone who regularly uses fentanyl, as an example, might not exhibit obvious symptoms but is still impaired. He said the department has a "limited number" of drug recognition experts, a qualification that requires several months of intensive training.

He said an officer who suspects a driver is under the influence of drugs must call one of the drug recognition experts to make a final determination.

The commissioner, while urging for stricter penalties for distracted driving as well, said the proposed laws will help "if we don’t have to determine a specific drug and we just have to determine impairment."

Law enforcement would also receive increased training under the governor’s plan and the state would explore using new roadside screening and toxicology tools that can assist officers with enforcement, according to the State of the State.

On Friday, Tim Carpenter held a photo of his son Timothy Carpenter, 22, who died in 2023 in Centereach by a driver police said was high on fentanyl.

Andrea Carpenter, Timothy’s mother, said the driver responsible for the crash and her son’s death had been in several prior crashes and had been stopped by police previously.

"This is a nightmare that we will never wake up from," she said. ... "We don’t want anyone else to suffer the way my family has suffered."

Assemb. Rebecca Kassay (D-Port Jefferson) said the proposed changes "should not be a partisan issue." 

State Sen. Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue) said the governor’s proposal "is a good step in the right direction," but won’t fix the problem entirely.

"Until we start turning the tide around to pro-law enforcement to give them the tools they need to properly do their jobs, we’re still going to have these problems," he said in an interview.

He said this proposal hasn’t been a "big talking point" in the state budget negotiations compared to changes to discovery rules in criminal trials, so he doesn’t view it as obstacle to passing the budget.

Newsday’s "Dangerous Roads" investigation, a yearlong series exploring potential solutions on pervasive traffic crashes on Long Island, found a 55% increase in the number of fatalities involving drivers using alcohol, drugs or prescription medication between 2019 and 2022 on Long Island, according to state data.