Man charged with driving while on drugs

Brian Steele, 29, of Oceanside, the man accused of letting 18-year-old Kayla Gerdes drive his van high on painkillers when she allegedly ran over and killed a woman in Hempstead in April, was arrested in Merrick on June 2 and charged with driving while impaired by drugs.

Steele was arrested at 1:50 p.m. on Narwood Avenue after police stopped him for driving his 2007 Cadillac Escalade without a seat belt. When asked to step out of the car, police reported he appeared unsteady on his feet, slurred his speech and was slow to respond. A field sobriety test indicated that he was impaired, and a subsequent search of his car uncovered pills believed to be Xanax and Vicodin.

Steele was also charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and was scheduled to be arraigned in First District Court on June 7.

In April, Steele let Gerdes drive his van while she was high on painkillers. According to police, she lost control of the vehicle and fatally struck Rebecca Twine-Wright, 69, a retired doctor and mother of two. Gerdes has been indicted on 28 charges, including second-degree manslaughter.