What Happened
Jesher Rivera-Barreto, 31, of Medford was arrested late Saturday night after driving drunk with her two young children in her SUV and crashing into the woods in Brookhaven, according to Patch. Suffolk County Police said Rivera-Barreto was behind the wheel of a 2006 Toyota 4Runner, heading southbound on Horseblock Road, when she lost control at the intersection with Montauk Highway at approximately 11:25 p.m. The vehicle left the roadway and plunged into the woods.
Inside the SUV were Rivera-Barreto’s two children — a one-year-old and a four-year-old. All three were transported to NYU Langone Hospital – Suffolk in East Patchogue for evaluation, Patch reports. Rivera-Barreto and the one-year-old were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The four-year-old was not hurt. Both children were subsequently released to their father at the hospital.
Rivera-Barreto was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child passenger less than 15 years old — a felony offense under Leandra’s Law — as well as driving while intoxicated and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She was held overnight at the 4th Precinct in Smithtown and was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Sunday. Her court information had not been made available as of Monday morning, according to Patch.
Leandra’s Law takes its name from 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who died after riding as a passenger in a vehicle driven by a drunk driver. The law makes it a felony in New York to operate a vehicle while intoxicated when a child under 15 is present in the car — a threshold Rivera-Barreto’s passengers easily fell beneath, with both children under five years old.
Suffolk County Police 5th Squad detectives in Patchogue are continuing to investigate. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call detectives at 631-854-6552.
Location & Road Context
The crash occurred at the intersection of Horseblock Road and Montauk Highway in the Town of Brookhaven — a busy corridor in central Suffolk County that connects residential communities in Medford and the broader Brookhaven area to the south shore commercial strip along Montauk Highway. The southbound approach on Horseblock Road toward Montauk Highway funnels traffic through a well-traveled junction, and late-night incidents at this crossing are not uncommon. This crash is at least the second Leandra’s Law arrest in the Brookhaven area within a two-day window, following a related incident reported July 19, 2026.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Rivera-Barreto faces four charges in total: aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child passenger under 15 (Leandra’s Law felony), driving while intoxicated, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child — one count per child in the vehicle. She was detained overnight at the Suffolk County Police Department’s 4th Precinct in Smithtown and was set for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip on Sunday, July 20. No updated court disposition had been released by Monday morning. Detectives from the 5th Squad in Patchogue are leading the investigation and are soliciting tips at 631-854-6552.
Broader Impact
A Leandra’s Law conviction in New York carries a mandatory minimum sentence that includes the installation of an ignition interlock device, and a first-offense aggravated DWI with a child passenger is classified as a Class E felony — meaning Rivera-Barreto faces potential prison time in addition to license revocation and fines. The back-to-back Leandra’s Law arrests within Brookhaven in a single weekend — including a separate incident logged July 19 — underscores a persistent local pattern of impaired driving with minors on board.
Updates
- Jul 19, 2026: Additional reporting merged into this article: “Fitness Influencer Charged with DWI in Crash with Her Two Sons in Car” (source)