Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A Shirley man was arrested more than two months after a high-speed, drug-impaired crash on Sunrise Highway in Bayport that sent both him and his passenger flying from an overturned BMW, according to a report by LongIsland.com.
Suffolk County Police announced on Monday, June 29, 2026 that Mario Auer, 25, of Shirley had been taken into custody at the Fifth Precinct and charged with multiple offenses stemming from the crash, which originally occurred at approximately 1:10 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. The incident unfolded on eastbound Sunrise Highway in Bayport, just west of Nicolls Road — a heavily traveled stretch of roadway in the Town of Islip.
According to police, Auer was behind the wheel of a 2022 BMW traveling eastbound when he lost control of the vehicle. The BMW struck the center median and overturned, ejecting both Auer and his passenger from the car. The violence of the rollover and the ejections are consistent with what investigators subsequently confirmed: Auer had been driving in excess of 100 mph immediately preceding the crash, as LongIsland.com reported.
Auer’s passenger, Caitlyn Rose Lovelock, 28, of Mastic Beach, was transported to NYU Langone Hospital–Suffolk in Patchogue following the collision. She was treated for minor injuries. Auer himself fared worse — he was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. In the immediate aftermath, the 2022 BMW was impounded for a safety check, a standard procedure in crashes where impairment or excessive speed is suspected.
The gap between the April 28 crash and the June 29 arrest reflects the investigative work required to build a drug-impaired driving case. While charges involving alcohol impairment often stem from roadside testing performed at the scene, drug-impaired driving prosecutions typically require toxicological analysis, medical records, and a more detailed review of the circumstances. Suffolk County Police’s investigation ultimately determined that Auer’s ability to operate a motor vehicle was impaired by drugs at the time of the crash — in addition to the reckless speed at which he was traveling.
Auer was booked at the Fifth Precinct and charged with four offenses: Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, Reckless Endangerment in the 2nd Degree, Reckless Driving, and Speeding. He was scheduled to be arraigned the same day at First District Court, per the LongIsland.com report. No bail information was immediately available at the time of the report’s publication.
Location & Road Context
The crash took place on Sunrise Highway in Bayport, just west of the Nicolls Road interchange — a segment of the roadway that carries substantial commuter and commercial traffic between the South Shore communities of Suffolk County and points west. Sunrise Highway (NY Route 27) is a principal arterial that runs the length of Long Island’s South Shore, and the stretch near Nicolls Road sees elevated traffic volumes due to its proximity to a major north-south connector. The posted speed limit on this section is far below the 100-plus mph that investigators say Auer was traveling. A divided roadway with a center median, the road is designed to prevent cross-traffic collisions — but as this incident demonstrates, a center median also becomes a hazard when a driver loses control at extreme speeds. Conditions at the time of the 1:10 p.m. Tuesday crash were not specified in the report.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Suffolk County Police charged Auer with Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs — a serious criminal charge under New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law — alongside Reckless Endangerment in the 2nd Degree, Reckless Driving, and Speeding. The combination of charges reflects both the impaired operation of the vehicle and the extreme danger posed to Lovelock, who as his passenger was placed in serious physical risk by Auer’s alleged conduct. Under New York law, a conviction for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs (DWAI-Drugs) can carry penalties including fines, license revocation, and incarceration, with enhanced consequences for cases involving injuries or prior offenses. Auer was arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on June 29, the same day as his arrest, according to LongIsland.com. No information on legal representation or a plea was included in the initial report.
Broader Impact
This arrest adds to a troubling pattern of serious crashes in and around Shirley in recent weeks. In June 2026 alone, the area saw a fatal crash involving a motorcyclist, a collision that claimed the life of a grandmother, and a pedestrian struck on Dawn Drive. The Auer case in particular underscores the compounding danger of drug impairment combined with excessive speed — both independently among the leading behavioral factors in fatal and serious-injury crashes on Long Island’s South Shore roadways.