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D.W.I. and 16 Traffic Tickets

Thu, 06/30/2022 - 10:23

A South Burlington, Vt., man was arrested on Montauk Highway near Pantigo Place in East Hampton early on the morning of June 20 and charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, and no fewer than 16 traffic infractions. A town police officer who was watching reported that Bryan Tummings, 31, driving a 2018 Jeep, tailgated the car ahead, swerved across the double yellow lines, drove on the shoulder, failed to signal, drove on hazard markers, and more. After being stopped, he allegedly failed the standard sobriety tests, and a computer check revealed that he had no insurance. Back at town police headquarters, police said, he refused to take a breathalyzer test. He was held overnight for a morning appearance before East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana, and is due back in court on Wednesday.

An East Hampton man was similarly charged early on Friday morning, after an accident at the intersection of Accabonac Road and Red Dirt Road in Springs. John Pena-Rojas, 26, told  town police that a deer had run out in front of his 2012 gray Nissan, and that he swerved to avoid hitting it, but ended up in woods along the roadside. His breath smelled strongly of alcohol, police said, and he was unsteady on his feet. He consented to a blood-alcohol test, which reportedly registered over twice the legal level, raising the charge to aggravated D.W.I. Mr. Pena-Rojas, who’d cut his knee but refused medical attention, was held overnight and arraigned in the morning by Justice Steven Tekulsky. He is due back in court on July 21.

In Southampton Town, police were called early Saturday morning to the scene of a head-on crash on Montauk Highway, near Newlight Lane in Bridgehampton. According to a press release, Kiah Wright, 33, of Hampton Bays, who was westbound in a 2017 Subaru Crosstrek, crossed into the oncoming lane, directly into the path of a 2017 Honda Pilot. Both Ms. Wright and the Honda driver were taken by ambulance to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, though police judged Ms. Wright to be intoxicated, and charged her with misdemeanor drunken driving. She will be arraigned at a future date.

East Hampton Ambulance Department Gets County Nod

The Suffolk County Regional Emergency Services Council voted on March 12 to expand the operating territory of the East Hampton Village Ambulance Department to include the Northwest Fire Protection District and the East Hampton Water Supply Area. This came after a contentious public hearing at LTV Studios on Feb. 16.

Mar 21, 2024

On the Police Logs 03.21.24

A 37-year-old Montauk man attempted to make a fire in a barrel at the Montauk Skate Park to "grill some burgers while he and friends skated" on the afternoon of March 13. Someone called the police, who told the man it was against the rules. He apologized and put the fire out.

Mar 21, 2024

Policing East Hampton in 2023: A Look at the Statistics

In 2023, for 911 calls classified as "highest priority," the East Hampton Town Police Department's average response time was 5 minutes, 38 seconds. Officers made 163 drunken-driving arrests, assisted on 2,530 medical calls and nearly 1,800 fire-related emergencies, and logged 12 "use of force" incidents over the 12-month period. Those were just a few of the statistics presented by Chief Michael Sarlo to the East Hampton Town Board last week, capping off a year of protecting 70 square miles from Wainscott to Montauk.

Mar 21, 2024

Sexual Assault Investigation

A 29-year-old East Hampton woman went to police headquarters on March 4 to report being the victim of sexual assault, stemming from an incident on Feb. 23 at a house in town.

Mar 13, 2024

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