On October 4, 2026, at approximately 3:40 a.m., New York State Police in Somers conducted a welfare check on a vehicle parked on the shoulder of Interstate 684 in the Town of North Salem.
During the investigation, the operator, identified as Hector Villa, 49, of Port Chester, New York, exhibited signs of intoxication. Standardized Field Sobriety Tests were administered. Further investigation revealed that a 14-year-old child was a passenger in the vehicle.
Villa was taken into custody and transported to State Police Somers for processing, where he submitted to a chemical breath test that yielded a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.09%. The child was safely released to a sober third party.
As a result of the investigation, Villa was charged with Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a Child Passenger (Leandra’s Law), a Class E felony; Driving While Intoxicated with a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.08% or More, an unclassified misdemeanor; and Driving While Intoxicated, an unclassified misdemeanor.
Villa was issued traffic tickets returnable to the Town of North Salem Court on October 26, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.