Cops: DWI charge after driver hits trees

A Baldwin man whose car struck several trees after it slid on an entrance ramp to the Southern State Parkway in Roosevelt early Friday faces a drunken-driving charge, State Police said.

Two troopers were dispatched to an accident on the ramp from the southbound Meadowbrook State Parkway to the westbound Southern State at about 12:39 a.m.

The driver of a black Jeep, Peter Timmes, 48, had taken the ramp "too fast, causing him to lose control and strike several trees," troopers said in a release.

As they spoke with Timmes, the troopers "detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage," the release said.

Timmes also had slurred speech and impaired coordination, police said. He failed sobriety tests and was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, police said.

He also produced a breath-analyzer reading of .26 percent, more than three times the legal limit, police said.

His arraignment information at First District Court in Hempstead was not immediately available.