Mayor Dragged Through Parking Lot Trying To Stop Driver

WARWICK, NY — The mayor of Warwick was injured Saturday when he was dragged by a truck through a CVS parking lot.

The Town of Warwick Department of Police said, around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, officers were sent to a welfare check of a man who repeatedly fell on Main Street in the village of Warwick.

As officers got close to the area of the CVS Pharmacy, they were flagged down and told of a motor vehicle accident in the parking lot.

An investigation into the incident found that the man in the original report was the same person involved in the accident, police said.

Law enforcement learned that the man was seen falling by Warwick Mayor Michael Newhard, who tried to assist him.

However, police said, the man got back up and continued walking and falling into the CVS parking lot where he got into his pickup truck.

Newhard tried to talk the man out of driving and was eventually able to take his keys away, police said.

The man then retrieved a spare set of keys and started his truck.

As Newhard tried once again to stop him, the man drove off dragging the mayor through the parking lot while striking several other vehicles.

A United States Parks police officer, who was in the parking lot at the same time, immediately broke the window out of the pickup truck and stopped it.

The parks police officer handcuffed the man and detained him until the Warwick police arrived.

Police said the man was taken to St. Anthony’s Community Hospital emergency department for evaluation and testing.

Newhard was also treated for his injuries and released later Saturday night.

According to the police, six parked vehicles were struck during the incident.

Charges are pending against the man, police said.

The investigation into the incident is continuing with the assistance of the New York State Police Crime Laboratory and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.