Crime & Safety

Former Southampton High School Coach Arrested on Drug Charges, Again

Police say McCready drove wrong way on Route 25, crashing into two cars and sending one driver to the hospital.

A former wrestling coach who resigned in August 2009 after two arrests on charges related to driving under the influence of herion came to light is now accused of driving high again, this time crashing into two vehicles and sending one driver to the hospital.

Riverhead Town Police said that Ryan T. McCready, 26, of Miller Place was arrested Tuesday evening at the scene of an accident in Calverton and charged with driving under the influence of drugs, criminal posession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree and criminally possessing a hypodermic instrument.

Police received calls reporting an erratic driver in a Nissan Altima on Route 25 shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday. According to police, the Nissan drove eastbound in a westbound lane and struck two vehicles head on, a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Ford pickup.

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The other drivers involved in the incident were identified as Serafina Zoda, 52, of Port Jefferson, and Brian Pina, 30, of Miller Place. One was treated for non-life threatening injuries at  and the other driver was uninjured, police said.

McCready was treated for injuries at the scene and transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center. McCready remained hospitalized at of 10 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

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McCready was previously arrested for driving while impaired by drugs and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree on two occasions, the first on Sept. 19, 2008 by and the second on Mar. 17, 2009 by New York State Police in Southampton Town. McCready was a coach at the high school as well as a gym teacher at at the time.

Tuesday's accident comes after a rash of recent wrong-way driving accidents in Suffolk County in the past month. Last week, a Yaphank man was charged with driving down the wrong side of the Long Island Expressway for over three exits.

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy had announced a public awareness campaign to bring attention to wrong-way vehicle operators driving under the influence.

"Safety on our streets is paramount, during the holidays and all year 'round," said Levy. "We are reminding members of the public that law enforcement is out in force to prevent anyone else from being involved in another horrific 'wrong way' or DWI-related crash."


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