DA: Off-Duty Cop’s BAC Twice Legal Limit In Deadly Crash

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (AP) — Prosecutors say an off-duty Long Island police officer had a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit when they say he smashed into a van in a deadly wrong-way crash last week.

Authorities say 24-year-old Robert Scheuerer struck a van on Sunrise Highway in West Islip on Sept. 27. The van caught fire. The driver died at the scene.

The body of the driver of the van was burned beyond recognition. Police say they need to perform a DNA test to identify the body.

The Suffolk County officer pleaded not guilty to reckless endangerment at a hospital on Tuesday. A spokesman for District Attorney Thomas Spota says toxicology results were released on Wednesday.

Scheuerer's attorney says people shouldn't judge the case yet.

Scheuerer has been suspended without pay.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]