A drunken driver speeding his Mercedes the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway slammed into a shuttle van early this morning in Queens, critically injuring himself and the other driver, police sources said.

Dave Richards, 30, of Hempstead, LI, whose silver Mercedes burst into flames after smashing into the van near the Utopia Parkway at Exit 25 around 6:09 a.m., had a blood-alcohol content of .19 — more than twice the legal limit, sources said.

Richards and the van driver, John Rey, 64, of Greenlawn, had to be pulled from their burning vehicles. They remain in critical condition at New York Hospital Queens, sources said.

Neither car had other passengers.

Richards was charged with reckless endangerment and driving while intoxicated and with a suspended license.