Port Jeff Station Man Arrested for DWI with 2-Year Old Son in Car

At 10 a.m. on Friday James Marquardt, 41, from Port Jefferson Station was arrested for driving while intoxicated with his two-year old son in the car while driving on the Lon Island Expressway.

Marquardt was stopped by a State Police on the Long Island Expressway after a trooper saw him throw a beer can out of the window of his gray Chevrolet near Exit 55. During the stop, the trooper detected “a strong smell of an alcoholic beverage” according to a report.

Marquardt failed sobriety tests and was arrested for driving while intoxicated with a child in the vehicle under New York State’s Leandra’s Law.

Under the 2009 law it is a first-time felony offense for driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both while transporting passengers age 15 and under, according to the website of state Senator Martin Malavé Dilan. Marquardt was also arrested for endangering the welfare of a child, throwing refuse on the highway and drinking alcohol in a moving vehicle.

Marqardt was held for Arraignment in Suffolk County First District Court.