AMSTERDAM - City police say they charged a Glenville man with four misdemeanors and five infractions Friday after he was spotted heading the wrong way on a one-way portion of Route 5 and drove his truck toward a police officer.
Officers Todd Stark and Ariel Santiago we directing traffic at the intersection of Route 5 and Route 30 when they saw a pickup driven by 43-year-old William J. White heading east on Route 5 near the Amsterdam Fire Station.
White ignored both officers' hand signals and verbal commands to stop and turned onto Route 30, almost hitting Santiago who was forced to jump out of the way, according to the Police Department.
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William J. White
The officers then pursued White, who drove through the two stop lights on Church and Prospect streets and two stop signs on Prospect Street and Locust Avenue.
Officers said they stopped the truck on Elizabeth Street and found White to be "highly intoxicated."
White was charged with driving while intoxicated, operating a vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more, second-degree reckless endangerment and reckless driving - all misdemeanors. The driver also was charged with failure to comply, passing through a red traffic signal, disobeying a stop sign, not wearing a seatbelt and driving the wrong way on a one way street - all infractions.
White was arraigned by City Judge Lisa Lorman and was released on bail, which had been set at $1,000 cash or $2,000 bond. He is scheduled to reappear in City Court.