Bay Shore Woman Nearly Killed by Oncoming Train
After accidentally making a turn onto Long Island Rail Road tracks, 43-year-old Bay Shore resident Laurie Foulke got stuck on the tracks in her Volkswagen Jetta Friday afternoon. Unable to move the car, officers Christopher Palazzo and Jereme Matthews pulled Foulke from her car and cleared the area as the oncoming train approached. Police alerted the MTA to the situation and asked to stop the Montauk-bound train. Unfortunately the train was too close to the location of the car and it was too late to stp the train. The responding officers evacuated the area as the train struck the car sending it across the tracks. No one was injured in the incident which suspended LIRR train service for nearly two hours, though Foulke was arrested for driving under the influence.
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Montauk Man Avoids Jail Time for Animal Cruelty
Daniel L. Vargas was arrested after a witness reported seeing Vargas kick his 6-month-old dog named James. Vargas admitted to kicking the boxer pup at Uihelein’s in Montauk where he both lived and worked. His attorney, Stephen Grossman, says that the dog was not injured and was seen playing with Vargas when police arrived at the scene. Vargas pled guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty and will not serve time in prison as a part of a plea arrangement. Instead Vargas was sentenced to 280 hours of community service and three year probation. Prosecutors also request that Vargas not be allowed to own a dog. Initially charged with felony animal cruelty, the charges were downgraded after a spokesman from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said a veterinarian’s report came back revealed there was no serious injury was caused to the dog. Grossman says his client is a good man who had “lost it for a moment.”
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Baldwin Man Gets Sentenced in Attempted Murder
David Knudson pled guilty at Nassau County court in November to charges of second-degree attempted murder, attempted assault, strangulation, aggravated criminal contempt and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to eight years behind bars for trying to kill his then-girlfriend by placing a plastic bag over her head and choking her last year. Knudson was intoxicated during an argument with his ex-girlfriend. As the fight escalated the 42-year-old reportedly punched the woman in her face, put a bag over her head, strangled her and then threatened to kill her. The victim escaped her assailant but not without suffering contusions, swelling, bruising, facial fractures and jaw realignment surgery.
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DWI Driver 3x Over Legal Limit
A man who crashed his SUV on the Meadowbrook State Parkway in Uniondale is reported to have had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system. Peter Timmes was driving his Jeep southbound early Friday morning when he drove onto the westbound Southern State Parkway ramp going too fast when he lost control of the vehicle and struck several trees. Troopers say Timmes smelled of alcohol, had slurred his speech and failed sobriety tests. His blood alcohol content (BCA) was 0.26 percent, more than three times the limit of 0.08. Timmes is charged with driving while intoxicated and speeding.