3 N.Y. Troopers Injured During 30-Mile Pursuit of Impaired Driver
What to know
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Three New York State Police troopers suffered injuries that weren't life-threatening during a 30-plus-mile pursuit of an accused drunken driver Feb. 11 from Livingston to Pleasant Valley.
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The suspect allegedly struck five marked patrol vehicles during the chase before his vehicle was disabled on the Taconic State Parkway using a stinger device.
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The suspect was charged with felony DWI, criminal mischief, assault and attempted assault, along with misdemeanors.
MILAN, NY — A drunk Greene County man led state police on a more than 30-mile chase from Livingston in Columbia County to Pleasant Valley in Dutchess County, intentionally striking five marked state police vehicles along the route, authorities said Thursday.
Three members of the state police suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to local hospitals for treatment, state police said.
At about 3:05 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, a state trooper assigned to the Livingston barracks attempted to stop a 2010 Ford pickup traveling on state Route 82 in Livingston for alleged violations of the state Vehicle and Traffic Law. The driver failed to comply, and a pursuit began on the Taconic State Parkway southbound, according to a press release.
The driver and sole occupant, identified as Stephen M. Preston, 36, of Cairo, “intentionally struck five marked State Police vehicles during the pursuit, causing damage to all five vehicles,” police said.
The pickup was ultimately disabled in the vicinity of mile marker 53.1 in Pleasant Valley following the successful deployment of a “stinger device,” police said. Stinger devices are used to puncture vehicles’ tires.
Preston was arrested and charged with the felonies of driving while intoxicated, criminal mischief (five counts), assault (three counts), attempted assault (three counts) and the misdemeanors of unlawfully fleeing and resisting arrest, police said.
Preston was arraigned in Milan Town Court and sent to Dutchess County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.
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