New City Teen Charged with Felony DWI Under Leandra's Law

A New City 17-year-old out for a Saturday night drive with his 15-year-old girlfriend and two other friends has been charged with felony drunken driving under the state's Leandra's Law, according to the Rockland County Sheriff's Department.

Additionally, the driver and three passengers in the car also face illegal drug charges because of prescription drugs found in the car after it was stopped about 3 a.m. Saturday on Little Tor Road in New City, police said.

The incident began when a Sheriff's patrol officer attempted to stop a Subaru Forrester for speeding. Police said the 17-year-old driver failed to stop and tried to avoid police for a short distance.

When stopped and questioned, the driver appeared intoxicated and tests for alcohol determined his blood alcohol content was 1.5 times over the legal limit, according to police. Although the teen had not been previously charged with driving while intoxiced, police said he was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, a felony, because his 15-year-old girlfriend was one of the passengers – making the incident a violation of Leandra's Law, which carries tougher penalities for drunken driving with a child in a vehicle.

The 17-year-old, who was not identified by police, was arraigned in Clarkstown Town Court and ordered held in the Rockland County Correctional Center in New City on $10,000 bail.

The 15-year-old New City girl was released to her parents and the other passengers, a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old from New City and Stony Point, were also released. All four, however, face charges of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled for having prescription medication that was not prescribed for any of them.

The driver was also charged with reckless driving and was issued several traffic violations, police said. No one was injured in the incident and the brief chased ended without vehicles being damaged, police said.