Cops: Kings Park man charged with DWI, fleeing police on Southern State Parkway
Christian Bell, 69, of Kings Park, was arrested on Saturday night, Nov. 15, 2014, on charges of driving while intoxicated, as well as with third-degree fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and vehicle and traffic violations, police said. Credit: NYS Police
Calls reporting a driver on the Southern State Parkway operating his car erratically and without headlights Saturday night led to the arrest of a 69-year-old Kings Park man, charged with drunken driving and fleeing police.
State Police said Christian Bell was arrested after responding troopers "detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage" during the ensuing traffic stop.
Police said Bell failed roadside sobriety tests and had a .15 blood alcohol content. The legal limit in New York is .08 percent.
The initial incident occurred on the eastbound Southern near Exit 27, Wantagh Parkway, at 8:38 p.m. Callers said a gray Nissan was being operated erratically and without headlights.
"Troopers located the vehicle and attempted to make a traffic stop," police said Monday in a news release. "The operator refused to stop for troopers for several miles until finally pulling over," near Exit 37, Belmont Avenue, in West Babylon.
Bell was charged with driving while intoxicated, as well as with third-degree fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and with vehicle and traffic violations. He faces arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead on Dec. 1, police said.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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