What Happened
James Baldassarri, 44, of Holtsville died from injuries he sustained when a 2017 Ford Taurus driven by Noah Slusser, 21, of Medford slammed into the parked 2025 Toyota he was sitting in on Wilson Drive in Middle Island, according to Suffolk County Police. The crash occurred at 12:05 a.m. on August 27, 2026. Baldassarri died at Stony Brook University Hospital, where he had been taken with serious injuries.
Slusser was driving the Taurus southbound on Wilson Drive when the vehicle left its lane and struck the parked Toyota, police said. A 27-year-old Middle Island woman who was also in the Toyota was transported to NYU Langone Hospital – Suffolk with non-life-threatening injuries. She was the only other occupant of the vehicle.
Suffolk County Police arrested Slusser at the scene. He was charged with driving while intoxicated. Police scheduled him for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip. Both the 2017 Ford Taurus and the 2025 Toyota were impounded for a safety check, per Patch.
Police initially reported the crash on August 27. Baldassarri’s death was confirmed and publicly announced on August 29, 2026, at 6:36 p.m., when Patch reported the update based on Suffolk County Police information.
Detectives from the Sixth Squad are asking anyone with information about the crash to call 631-854-8652.
Location & Road Context
Wilson Drive is a local residential street in Middle Island, a hamlet in Brookhaven Town in central Suffolk County. The stretch where the crash occurred had at least one vehicle parked along the street at the time. Middle Island sits roughly between the Long Island Expressway and Route 25, in an area the Suffolk County accident database shows has generated a significant volume of recorded incidents. Suffolk County as a whole accounts for 870 recorded accidents in Long Island Traffic’s local incident database.
For more on crashes in Suffolk County and Middle Island road conditions, see our dedicated pages.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Slusser faces a charge of driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor at the first-offense level under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law. Suffolk County Police scheduled his arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip. With Baldassarri’s death now confirmed, prosecutors may present an upgraded charge, vehicular manslaughter, to a Suffolk County grand jury, though no such charge had been announced as of the August 29 police update. The Sixth Squad is handling the investigation.
Both vehicles remain impounded pending the safety inspection results, which can contribute to the evidentiary record in a DWI fatality case.
What This DWI Charge Means
New York VTL § 1192 establishes three levels of impaired driving. Section 1192.1 covers driving while ability impaired (DWAI) by alcohol, a traffic infraction triggered at BAC levels below 0.08. Section 1192.2 covers driving while intoxicated (DWI) at a BAC of 0.08 or higher, a misdemeanor on a first offense. Section 1192.2-a covers aggravated DWI at a BAC of 0.18 or higher, which carries steeper penalties. Suffolk County Police charged Slusser with DWI; the specific BAC level and the applicable subsection will be entered into the court record at arraignment.
A first-offense DWI conviction in New York carries a fine of $500 to $1,000, a mandatory surcharge, a minimum six-month license revocation, and up to one year in jail. The court also mandates installation of an ignition interlock device for at least six months following any DWI conviction. If a grand jury returns a vehicular manslaughter indictment, possible when a DWI crash results in a death, the charge becomes a felony with a potential prison sentence of up to four years on a second-degree count, or up to 15 years on a first-degree count with aggravating factors.
Separately, any driver who refuses a chemical test (breath, blood, or urine) faces an automatic one-year license revocation under New York’s implied-consent law, a $500 civil penalty on a first refusal, and the refusal can be introduced as evidence of consciousness of guilt at trial. No refusal has been reported in this case.
Case Status & Updates
The charge against Noah Slusser is an accusation. He is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law. His arraignment was scheduled at First District Court in Central Islip; the outcome of that proceeding had not been reported as of the last update to this article.
Long Island Traffic tracks DWI arrests through arraignment, plea, and sentencing, and updates each report as those records become public. Check back here for changes to Slusser’s charge status, any grand jury action tied to Baldassarri’s death, and the final disposition of the case in Suffolk County criminal court.