Cops: Two drivers charged with felony DWI

Two drivers stopped Saturday on the Southern State Parkway face felony drunken driving charges, State Police said.

At about 9:35 a.m., a trooper stopped a gray Mitsubishi Galant for speeding -- 80 mph in a posted 55 mph zone -- on the eastbound parkway near Exit 14, Fletcher Avenue, in Valley Stream, police said in a release.

During an interview with the driver, Skaly Charles, 32, of Broadfield Road, the trooper noticed a strong odor of alcohol, police said. Charles failed sobriety tests and was subsequently arrested and charged with DWI, police said.

Charles provided a breath-analyzer sample of .09 percent and is charged with a felony DWI because of a previous drunken-driving conviction in the last 10 years, police said.

He also faces several traffic violations.

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

Later, at 8:25 p.m., troopers went to the scene of an accident on the westbound side of the parkway, near Exit 15, Corona Avenue, in North Valley Stream.

An unoccupied green Jaguar was disabled in the left lane, facing the wrong direction, police said.

The trooper received information that the car's driver had fled the scene on foot, and Nassau County police arrested a man fitting the driver's description on Howell Road in North Valley Stream.

Police said the Jaguar's driver, Garth Mitchell, 51, of 195th Street, St. Albans, failed sobriety tests and was arrested and charged with DWI. He produced a breath-analyzer reading of .11 percent, police said.

Mitchell also had a previous conviction for DWI in the last 10 years, police said, so the charge is a felony. He also faces a charge of leaving the scene of an accident and several traffic violations.

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