Cops: DWI charge for swerving parkway driver

A driver with a blood-alcohol content more than three times the legal limit was arrested late Sunday after "swerving across the lanes of traffic" on the Southern State Parkway in North Valley Stream, police said.

Troopers saw Latchman Bhansingh, 45, of Hempstead, driving a gray Nissan eastbound near Central Avenue at 11:25 p.m., State Police said in a Monday news release.

"The vehicle almost struck the center concrete median several times, and when troopers attempted to pull the vehicle over, the operator stopped in the right lane," police said. "The operator had to be told numerous times to pull off the roadway."

While interviewing Bhansingh, troopers "detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage," police said. The driver failed sobriety tests and produced a breath-alcohol reading of .26, police said.

Bhansingh was charged with driving while intoxicated and traffic violations. He is to appear May 22 in First District Court in Hempstead.