An AU student visiting a fraternity brother on Long Island was thrown out of a bar drunk and then drove his car into a crowd of people, hitting four and critically injuring two, according to a Nassau County, N.Y., Police Department press release.
Sayed Khaled El-Waraky, 19, was charged with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident with serious physical injury, one count of third-degree assault and one count of drunken driving in Glen Cove, N.Y., Sunday morning.
El-Waraky was thrown out of the Soundview Bar at the Glen Cove Golf Club around 2:45 a.m., according to police. He then got into his 2005 Jaguar, headed toward the exit, then turned around and drove into a crowd of pedestrians that had gathered outside the bar, according to the police.
He left the scene and was pulled over by a Glen Cove police officer about 10 minutes later, according to Newsday, a newspaper serving Long Island and New York City. Police said he refused a Breathalyzer test.
El-Waraky struck four men - Sean Basdavanos, 22, and Salvatore Martinez, 23, both of Glen Cove; Matthew Granger, 22, of Watermill, N.Y.; and Matthew Hurwitz, whose age and place of residence were not made available by police. Hurwitz suffered minor abrasions and contusions and declined medical attention. Martinez was transported to North Shore University Hospital, where he was treated and released, according to police.
Basdavanos and Granger were also transported to North Shore. Basdavanos suffered a fractured jaw, face fractures, facial lacerations requiring surgery and internal injuries. Granger suffered multiple skull fractures.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Basdavanos was in intensive care and Granger was in a regular room, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Newsday reported Tuesday that Basdavanos was on a respirator and Granger was in a medically induced coma, but both were in stable condition.
El-Waraky, of Vienna, Va., is a sophomore in the Kogod School of Business and a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. He was ordered held Monday without bail, according to Newsday. He pleaded not guilty to his charges.
El-Waraky has a previous DWI conviction in Virginia in 2003.
According to a source from the district attorney's office, the case was adjourned until June 22, when a "routine conference" will be held, most likely postponing the case further.
