Wrong-Way Driver Faces Felony DWI Charge: PD

ELMSFORD, NY — A Westchester County man was accused of drunken driving and faces a felony charge after going the wrong way on a parkway.

The Westchester County Police said, shortly after 4 a.m. Tuesday, a officer was patrolling the Saw Mill River Parkway while driving north near Palmer Road.

He said he saw an Audi sedan coming toward him in the wrong direction.

The officer let the Audi pass him in the left lane, made a U-turn and pulled the driver over a short distance away.

Police said the driver had the smell of alcohol on his breath and told the officer he was driving home to Elmsford from Manhattan.

Daniel Marino, 30, of Elmsford, was taken into custody after failing a roadside field sobriety test.

He was charged with driving while intoxicated, a felony, because he has a previous DWI conviction in the past 10 years, police said.

Marino was also charged with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, a misdemeanor, and was issued summonses for operating an unregistered vehicle and for driving the wrong way.

He was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Yonkers City Court Aug. 8.

Acting Commissioner Terrance Raynor said this traffic stop and arrest averted a potential tragedy.

"Several other vehicles came northbound on the parkway right after our officer stopped this car," he said. "They would have been directly in the path of this wrong-way, intoxicated driver."