Driver with license that expired 32 years ago stopped for 2nd time in 24 hours, police say

A West Babylon man was again caught behind the wheel — for the second time in 24 hours — driving with a license that had expired 32 years ago, police said Saturday.

Ralph R. Knowles, 55, was driving the same 2010 Dodge Caravan as the previous day when an officer pulled him over on West Third Street in West Babylon just before noon Saturday, Suffolk County police said in a news release.

During the traffic stop, Knowles told the First Precinct officer he had been arrested for driving with a suspended license the day before, police said. Knowles was then taken into custody and the vehicle was impounded, police said, adding Knowles was not the registered owner of the vehicle.

Knowles’ license had been suspended 46 times, expired in June 1986 and was revoked in June 1987. He was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, a felony. He was to be held overnight at the First Precinct and was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Sunday.

Knowles had been arrested Friday after he failed to signal when he changed lanes as he drove on Straight Path in Wyandanch, near Little East Neck Road, at about 4:30 p.m., police said. That is when officers discovered his troubled driving record, police said. Knowles was released and was to be arraigned on charges of first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle at a later date, police said.