Asleep at Wheel in D.W.I.s

Among reports of drunken-driving arrests this week, East Hampton Town police found two drivers “passed out” in their vehicles. Michael Patrick McDowell, who is 74, was seen slumped over the steering wheel of a Subaru with the engine running and his foot on the brake on Cedar Street, near Stephen Hand’s Path, on the afternoon of June 4, according to police. On Saturday night, another driver was found in an apparent unconscious state in the driver’s seat of a Toyota parked on a sidewalk in Montauk, police said. 

As an officer walked up to the window of Mr. McDowell’s car, at about 3:45 p.m., he reportedly woke up and drove off. The officer followed and saw him swerving and crossing over pavement markings. He then made a wide left turn onto Old Northwest Road and drove off the pavement. He then put the Subaru in reverse and accelerated backward, nearly striking the police cruiser, police said.

Mr. McDowell, an East Hampton resident, who police said appeared intoxicated, was arrested at about 4 p.m. Due to a prior driving-while-intoxicated conviction within the last 10 years, he was charged with felony drunken driving. He was also charged with a felony for driving without a valid license.

During a search, police allegedly found two half-oval blue pills, later identified as Alprazolam, also known as Xanax, in a prescription container without a prescription. He was therefore charged with possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor, and possession of a controlled substance in a non-original container, a violation. He was arraigned by East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana the following day, who set bail at $5,000 cash. It was posted and he was released. 

The second driver found asleep by police was Patricia R. Delacruz, with her vehicle facing westbound on Montauk Highway, near South Essex Street, at about 10:10 p.m. An officer approached the vehicle and reported seeing vomit on the driver’s seat and center console. When the officer awoke the driver, the 36-year-old appeared intoxicated, the report said.

Ms. Delacruz, a College Point resident, was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, indicating her blood alcohol level was above .18 of 1 percent or more of alcohol in the blood. Her license had been suspended twice, for failure to answer a summons in February 2017 and failure to pay a fine in May 2017, both in Queens County. Arraigned before Justice Steven Tekulsky the next day, she was released on $250 bail. 

A Florida man was arrested Saturday after he came close to hitting a town police vehicle. Jose O. Martinez-Solis, 30, of Inverness, was pulled over on Flamingo Avenue in Montauk at about 11:50 p.m. Police said he failed to signal before making a U-turn, at Industrial Road, nearly striking the police car. Charged with misdemeanor D.W.I., he was released on his own recognizance, after an arraignment before Justice Tekulsky on Sunday. 

A 34-year-old New Jersey woman was arrested on drunken driving charges after police saw her speeding in Amagansett on June 3 at about 11:15 p.m. According to a report, Mia Fugosic, who lives in Guttenberg, was driving a 2018 Ford Focus at 45 miles per hour in a 30 m.p.h. zone as she headed west on Montauk Highway, near Cozzens Lane. Police said she appeared intoxicated, performed poorly on field sobriety tests, and they arrested her at 11:40 p.m. Charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, she was released on her own recognizance. 

A moped operator from Brooklyn was charged with drunken driving on June 4 in Montauk. Police said Matthew Corey Boyd, 37, failed to stop the 1978 Moto-Guzzi at a stop sign on the Plaza at about 8:15 p.m. According to an officer, he appeared intoxicated and was charged with misdemeanor D.W.I. at 8:45 p.m. The moped was also not inspected or registered. Justice Rana released him on $300 cash bail the next day.

Police also reported the arrest of Peter B. Williams, who is 46 and lives in Montauk, on May 30. He was behind the wheel of a 2004 Hyundai on South Euclid Avenue, near South Edison, at about 8:40 that night, when he made a wide right turn and crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic, police said. Held overnight for arraignment, Justice Tekulsky released him on $500 bail the next day. Meanwhile, in Sag Harbor, police arrested Anthony B. Kerrigone, 48, of Greenwood Village, Colo., on a drunken-driving charge on Sunday night. Police said he was driving a 2018 Dodge Charger with Georgia plates south on Division Street with no taillights at about 9:50 p.m. Police stopped him on Route 114 and Barcelona Neck Road and said he appeared intoxicated. He was held overnight for arraignment on a misdemeanor D.W.I. charge.