Two charged in Sunken Meadow, Southern State stops

A Forest Hills man driving the wrong way on the Sunken Meadow Parkway in Commack and a speeding driver on the Southern State in Hempstead both face charges after State Police arrested them Tuesday, police said.

In the first case, troopers responding to a report of a disabled car on the Sunken Meadow, near the Northern State Parkway exit, found a gray Honda driving south on the northbound shoulder at 11:55 a.m., police said in a report.

After pulling over the vehicle, troopers noticed that the driver, Lloyd Kohler, 60, of 69-11 Yellowstone Blvd., had watery eyes and extremely small pupils, the report said.

Kohler failed a sobriety test, police said, and troopers found several oxycodone and alprazolam pills in his pockets.

He was arraigned on charges of driving while under the influence of drugs, criminal possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance not in its original container and several traffic violations, police said.

He is due back in First District Court in Central Islip on Nov. 12.

Later, at 5:37 p.m., a trooper patrolling the Southern State Parkway westbound near the Hempstead Avenue exit was passed by a gray Honda Accord doing 75 mph, police said. The Honda changed lanes unsafely several times before the vehicle was stopped, police said.

The driver Keith Thomas, 37, of 155 Linden Blvd., Brooklyn, was found to be driving with a suspended license. A vehicle search also yielded brass knuckles, police said.

Thomas was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, unlicensed operation of a vehicle, speeding and other traffic violations, police said.

He is due in First District Court in Hempstead on Nov. 29.