Suspect Charged With Felony DWI in New York’s Hudson Valley

Offcials say that they have arrested a man from New York state and charged him felony driving while intoxicated. The charge comes after troopers say that they were called to reports of a disabled vehicle on one of New York's busiest interstates late Thursday.

The suspect's felony charge follows an investigation that revealed that he already has a prior DWI conviction within the past 10 years. The suspect is also facing other charges.

Would a Lower BAC Limit in New York State Reduce Fatalities? 

Back in October 2023, a Wynantskill, NY man blew a a 0.38% BAC, which is 4.7 times over the state's legal limit, according to New York State Police. Some, such as Scott Wexler, of the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association say the fatal drunk driving crashes are caused by those with much higher BACs, such as this one.

Others, like Thomas Louizou, a former federal traffic safety official and founder of the .05 Saves Lives Coalition, disagree. Louizou stated that 114 other countries had lower legal limits than the United States. WNYT says that other organizations like the National Transportation Safety Board and Mothers Against Drunk Driving have backed previous attempts to lower the limit.

Numbers from the NTSB posted at Stateline say that in the first year, Utah lowered the drunk driving limit, and traffic deaths were cut by 20%.

Suspect Charged With Felony DWI in New York's Hudson Valley 

New York State Police said in a press release that on May 1, a trooper observed a disabled vehicle stopped on the left shoulder of Interstate 87 in the area of mile marker 18.8 in the hamlet of West Nyack in Rockland County.

Upon approaching the vehicle, the trooper said they observed a male subject who was in the driver's seat. During the interview, the trooper said they noted that the man exhibited signs of impairment, including the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath.

The suspect was asked to exit the vehicle and submit to standardized field sobriety tests, which he performed and subsequently failed. He was taken into custody and transported to State Police barracks in Tarrytown for processing.

While there, the suspect was read the DWI refusal warnings at approximately 8:00 p.m. and refused to submit to a chemical breath test. An investigation determined that the suspect had a prior DWI conviction within the past 10 years.