A Long Island man was arrested early Saturday morning in connection with a car crash that killed an off-duty Nassau County police officer. Matthew Smith, 20, a resident of Hauppauge, was driving while intoxicated when he ran a red light and struck another vehicle in Saint James shortly after 6 a.m., according to the Suffolk County Police Department. A preliminary investigation found that Smith was traveling northbound on Alexander Avenue when he crashed his Chevy Silverado into an Alfa Romeo traveling westbound on Route 347. Smith and his passenger, 25-year-old John Andali, of Centereach, were both taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Alfa Romeo, Nassau County officer Patricia Espinosa, was transported to the same hospital but was later pronounced dead. Espinosa, 42, began working with the NCPD in 2017 and was assigned to the 5th Precinct. Espinosa was a “dedicated member of the Nassau County Police Department who gave her life in service to others” and who “understood the sacrifices of this profession,” said Tommy Shevlin, president of the county’s Police Benevolent Association. She’s survived by her husband, Francisco Malaga, also a police officer, and her 2-year-old daughter, Mia. Part of a “true law enforcement family,” her brothers, Christian and David Almeida, also “proudly serve as police officers,” Shevlin said. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced on Saturday that he had ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from “Monday until burial.” “Heartbroken over the passing of police officer Patricia Espinosa, a beloved member of the Fifth Precinct,” Blakeman said in a statement, adding that he “had the honor” of marching alongside Espinosa in the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Smith was charged with driving while intoxicated, police said. Both vehicles were impounded as the investigation continues. ...read more read less