Personal Injury Law

New York DWI Charges Against Three Wrong-Way Drivers

By Mark Siesel, Esq.

Over the last month, DWI charges have been filed against three motorists driving the wrong way on local highways. Most recently, on July 1, New York State troopers arrested a Mohegan Lake resident for driving south on the northbound lanes of the Taconic Parkway in New Castle. The driver, Nabil A. Zidan, allegedly had a BAC (blood alcohol content) of 0.17. On June 13, Kenneth Lyons of Rye was charged with aggravated DWI when he allegedly drove the wrong way on I-287 in Harrison and struck a tractor-trailer. On June 1, Kathleen Beaton of Eastchester was stopped for driving the wrong way on I-87 while going over the Tappan Zee Bridge, and charged with aggravated DWI based on a purported BAC of .20.

The legal threshold for DWI in New York is .08 or above. In November of 2007, the New York State Legislature passed a new law which created the charge of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, for which the threshold is .18 BAC or above.

Full post as published by New York Legal Blog on July 09, 2008 (boomark / email).