WATCH: Wrong-Way Driver on the Long Island Expressway Captured on Dashcam — LIE's Growing Safety Crisis

WATCH: Wrong-Way Driver on the Long Island Expressway Captured on Dashcam — LIE' May 20, 2026.

Updated May 20, 2026

Dr. Dao Yuan Han Data Editor & Lead Analyst

CRITICAL INCIDENT

Reported: May 20, 2026 at 8:00 PM EDT
Source: Editorial

Breaking — May 20, 2026. Viral dashcam footage posted by @Breaking911 shows a vehicle traveling the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway, headlights blazing directly into oncoming traffic. The video, viewed hundreds of thousands of times within hours, captures one of the most terrifying scenarios on any highway — and one that Long Island drivers encounter with disturbing regularity.

The Video

Dashcam footage shared on X on Wednesday evening shows a vehicle heading directly into opposing traffic on the Long Island Expressway. The wrong-way driver’s headlights appear suddenly in the travel lanes, forcing other vehicles to swerve. The footage was posted by Breaking911 and rapidly went viral.

Source: @Breaking911 on X — original dashcam footage

Long Island Traffic is working to confirm the exact location, time, and whether any injuries resulted from this incident. This article will be updated as details become available.

Same Day, Same Highway: DWI Guilty Plea in LIE Crash That Blinded a Woman

In a grim coincidence, the wrong-way dashcam video surfaced on the same day that Matthew Sheehy, 48, of East Setauket, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault for a DWI crash on the Long Island Expressway that fractured a woman’s skull and left her permanently blind in one eye.

What Happened in the Sheehy Case

On November 15, 2024, at approximately 12:20 AM, Sheehy was driving a 2022 Ram pickup truck on the LIE through Holtsville, Suffolk County, weaving through traffic at high speed while under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

After veering onto the right shoulder, Sheehy slammed into a disabled 2010 Chrysler minivan, sending it careening across traffic lanes where it collided with a 2018 Honda CR-V. The chain-reaction crash injured four people:

CR-V passenger: Skull fracture, brain bleed, permanent loss of eyesight in one eye
CR-V driver and second passenger: Serious injuries
Chrysler occupant: Serious injuries

“The victim could easily have died because this defendant selfishly chose to drive like a maniac on the Long Island Expressway that night,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

Sheehy pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault, DWI, and three counts of third-degree assault. He faces 3 to 9 years in prison at sentencing on June 30, 2026.

The LIE’s Wrong-Way Driver Problem

The Long Island Expressway — I-495 — is the primary east-west artery across Long Island, carrying approximately 185,000 vehicles per day through Nassau and Suffolk Counties. It is also one of the most dangerous highways in New York State, and wrong-way incidents are a recurring nightmare.

Recent Wrong-Way Incidents on the LIE

Date	Location	Details	Outcome
May 20, 2026	LIE (location TBD)	Dashcam captures wrong-way driver heading into oncoming traffic	Under investigation
May 2025	East Hills, Nassau County	Wrong-way DWI crash shut down the LIE for hours	Multiple injuries, driver charged
July 2023	Holtsville, Suffolk County	Wrong-way driver entered at Exit 59, head-on collision	Both drivers killed (Thomas Raimondo and Jose Ferreira)
May 2017	Brentwood, Suffolk County	Driver entered wrong way at Wicks Road, traveled 10+ miles against traffic	Multiple injuries

Why Wrong-Way Crashes Are So Deadly

Wrong-way collisions are among the most lethal crash types on American highways. According to the National Transportation Safety Board:

Wrong-way crashes account for approximately 3% of all divided-highway accidents but produce 12-16% of fatalities on those roads
The average wrong-way crash occurs at a combined closing speed of 100+ mph (each vehicle traveling 50+ mph toward each other)
Over 60% of wrong-way drivers are impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident
Nighttime hours (midnight–4 AM) see the highest frequency of wrong-way entries
The most common entry point is an exit ramp driven in reverse — the driver confuses an off-ramp for an on-ramp

The Infrastructure Gap

New York has installed wrong-way detection systems at select highway interchanges — LED warning signs that activate when a vehicle enters an off-ramp in the wrong direction. However, coverage across the LIE’s 71 miles and dozens of interchanges remains incomplete.

Other states have deployed:

Thermal detection cameras at exit ramps (Florida, Texas)
Tire-shredding spike strips that allow correct-direction entry but puncture wrong-way vehicles (pilot programs in Arizona)
Enhanced reflective “WRONG WAY” signage with oversized retroreflective markers (FHWA recommended standard since 2019)

Long Island’s aging interchange infrastructure, particularly on the western end of the LIE in Queens and Nassau County, predates modern wrong-way prevention design standards.

What to Do If You Encounter a Wrong-Way Driver

If you see headlights coming directly toward you in your travel lanes:

Move to the rightmost lane immediately — Wrong-way drivers tend to travel in the leftmost lane (their right), which is your passing lane. The far-right lane is the safest position.
Slow down and pull onto the shoulder if possible — Reduce your closing speed and get out of the travel lanes entirely if you can do so safely.
Flash your headlights and honk your horn — Alert the wrong-way driver and other vehicles around you.
Call 911 immediately — Report the wrong-way vehicle, the highway, the direction they’re traveling, and the nearest exit number. Every second of advance warning can save lives.
Do NOT try to swerve into the oncoming lane — The wrong-way driver may correct at the last moment. Stay predictable.

The Legal Consequences

Wrong-way driving in New York can result in:

Vehicular manslaughter (Penal Law §125.12) if a death occurs — up to 15 years in prison
Aggravated vehicular assault (Penal Law §120.04-a) for serious physical injury — up to 5 years, or more if combined with DWI
DWI charges (VTL §1192) carrying mandatory license revocation, fines up to $10,000, and prison time for felony-level offenses
Civil liability — Victims of wrong-way crashes can pursue personal injury or wrongful death claims. New York’s pure comparative negligence rule (CPLR §1411) does not protect drivers who were driving the wrong direction — they bear full liability.

If the wrong-way driver is uninsured or unidentified (hit-and-run), victims may recover through their own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, which is mandatory on all New York auto policies with minimum limits of $25,000/$50,000.

Long Island Traffic Will Update This Story

We are monitoring police reports, 511NY feeds, and news sources for additional details on the wrong-way incident captured in tonight’s dashcam footage, including the exact location on the LIE, whether the driver was apprehended, and whether any injuries occurred. Updates will be added to this article as information becomes available.

If you witnessed this incident or have additional dashcam footage, contact Nassau County Police at (516) 573-7000 or Suffolk County Police at (631) 852-6600.

Sources

Topics

wrong-way driver Long Island Expressway LIE dashcam DWI drunk driving Long Island Suffolk County Nassau County road safety I-495 wrong way driver Long Island Expressway

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if I'm in a car accident on Long Island?

Call 911 immediately if anyone is injured or if the vehicles can't be moved safely off the roadway. Stay at the scene — leaving the scene of an accident with injuries is a crime under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §600. Exchange license, registration, and insurance information with every other driver involved. Take photographs of every vehicle, the position of the vehicles before they're moved, all license plates, the road surface, traffic signs, and any visible injuries. Get the names and phone numbers of every witness — police often won't capture bystander witnesses on their own. Seek medical attention within 24 hours even if you feel fine; soft-tissue injuries and concussions can take a day or two to present, and a delayed medical visit weakens an injury claim. In Nassau County, NCPD responds outside of incorporated villages. In Suffolk County, SCPD covers the five western towns; East End towns have their own forces. New York State Police Troop L responds to accidents on state highways across both counties.

How long do I have to file a no-fault claim in New York?

Thirty days. New York Insurance Law §5102 requires you to file a Personal Injury Protection (PIP/no-fault) application with the insurer of the vehicle you were in (or, if you were a pedestrian or cyclist, with the insurer of the striking vehicle) within 30 days of the accident. Missing the 30-day deadline can void your no-fault benefits — that's up to $50,000 in medical bills and 80% of lost wages (capped at $2,000/month) per injured person. The form is the NF-2 application; your insurance carrier provides it on request. New York no-fault is a true PIP system: it pays regardless of who caused the crash.

What counts as a "serious injury" under New York law?

Under Insurance Law §5102(d), a "serious injury" is one that meets at least one of these categories: (1) death; (2) dismemberment; (3) significant disfigurement; (4) a fracture; (5) loss of a fetus; (6) permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system; (7) permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; (8) significant limitation of use of a body function or system; or (9) a medically determined injury that prevents the injured person from performing substantially all daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days following the accident. Only injuries that meet one of these nine categories create the right to sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering damages — short of that threshold, recovery is limited to no-fault PIP benefits. Disputes over whether an injury meets the threshold are the single most-litigated issue in NY motor-vehicle cases.

How long do I have to sue after a Long Island car accident?

Three years from the date of the accident for personal injury claims under CPLR §214(5). Wrongful death claims have a two-year deadline under EPTL §5-4.1. If a government entity is involved (a county vehicle, a road defect on a state highway, a defective traffic signal, a county bus), you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e — that's a non-negotiable jurisdictional deadline, and missing it usually bars the claim entirely. Property-damage-only claims have the same three-year clock. The clock starts on the day of the accident, not the day you discover the full extent of an injury.

Can I still recover compensation if I was partly at fault?

Yes. New York is a pure comparative negligence state under CPLR §1411. Even if you were 90% at fault, you can still recover 10% of your damages. (A pending 2026 budget proposal would change this to a 51% bar — meaning a plaintiff who is more than 50% at fault would recover nothing — but that hasn't passed.) Insurance carriers routinely try to inflate the injured driver's percentage of fault to reduce payouts. The percentage assignment is decided by the jury at trial (or negotiated during settlement); it isn't fixed by the police accident report and isn't binding even when the report assigns fault. Reporting practice and the actual legal apportionment are separate questions.

Who can file a wrongful death claim in New York?

Under EPTL §5-4.1, only the personal representative (executor or administrator) of the deceased's estate can bring a wrongful death action — not the deceased's family directly. The estate is opened in Surrogate's Court of the county where the deceased lived. Damages flow to the spouse, children, parents, and other distributees defined under EPTL §4-1.1. Recoverable damages include loss of financial support, loss of parental guidance for surviving children, and conscious pre-death pain and suffering (recovered through a separate "survival action" under EPTL §11-3.2). New York is unusual in NOT allowing surviving family members to recover for their own emotional grief — only economic losses to the estate. The wrongful-death two-year statute of limitations is shorter than the three-year personal-injury statute, so the deadline is critical.

How do I get a copy of the police accident report?

If local police responded to the scene, the report is filed under an MV-104A form. In New York State, you can request a copy through the DMV at https://dmv.ny.gov/vehicle-safety/get-copy-accident-report (roughly $7 online, $10 by mail) once the responding agency has uploaded it to the state system, which usually takes 5-10 business days. NCPD and SCPD also have their own direct-request processes through the precinct that responded. If you weren't injured but the property damage exceeded $1,000, New York VTL §605 requires you (the driver) to file your own MV-104 report with the DMV within 10 days regardless of whether police responded.

Disclaimer: Incident information on this page is compiled from public sources including police reports, traffic agencies, and news outlets. It is provided for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current status of this incident. Do not rely on this information for legal, insurance, or emergency decisions. For emergencies, call 911.