Cops: Driver on cell charged with DWI

A Merrick man pulled over for talking on his cellphone Monday on the Southern State Parkway in Lakeview faces charges of felony drunken-driving and unlicensed operation, State Police said.

Troopers stopped Christopher Wolf, 53, as he was talking on his phone while driving east on the parkway, near Hempstead Avenue, Exit 17, at about 11:55 a.m., police said in a news release Tuesday.

Wolf was "slow to pull over," police said, and a trooper had to "knock on the window and instruct the driver to roll down the window."

Wolf told troopers he did not have a license, and troopers detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, the release said. Wolf failed sobriety tests and was subsequently arrested for driving while intoxicated, police said.

An investigation revealed Wolf's license had been suspended several times for DWI and for failure to pay child support, police said, and his vehicle registration also was suspended for an insurance lapse.

Wolf is charged with felony DWI because of a previous conviction in the past 10 years, felony unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, driving with a suspended registration, having an open alcoholic container in a vehicle and several traffic violations.

At his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead, bail was set at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.