CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - Multiple vehicle impoundments and an arrest for forged registration credentials kicked off the month of August for Lewisboro Police.
The first incident took place early in the afternoon of Aug. 1 in South Salem. An officer conducting surveillance on Route 123 spotted a southbound car with darkly tinted windows. After stopping the vehicle, the driver produced a Connecticut photo ID. The driver received two tickets – one for unauthorized equipment on his vehicle, referring to the dark windows, and another for driving without a valid license. Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle.
Several hours later, an officer stopped a vehicle in Cross River that bore a Connecticut temporary tag, which the officer suspected was too large. When the car pulled into a gas station, the officer noted a variety of discrepancies and ran the plate number through eJustice. The number belonged to a different vehicle. When questioned, the driver claimed he had paid $200 for the tag when he purchased the vehicle and then produced a registration saying “Harris County, Connecticut” – which does not exist.
The officer placed the driver under arrest for the forged tag and transported him to Lewisboro Police headquarters for processing. The driver was released with four tickets and an appearance ticket. The officer brought him back to the gas station to wait for a ride from a friend.
An impoundment took place that night after an officer stopped a vehicle along Route 123 in South Salem for having a broken windshield. The driver produced an ID card from El Salvador, said he had no license, and an eJustice check confirmed this. The driver received tickets for driving without a license and for improper vehicle equipment, and Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle.
Similar incidents kept police busy for the remainder of the two-week period.
On the night of Aug. 4, an officer traveling on Route 35 in Cross River stopped a westbound vehicle with non-working license plate lighting. When asked for a license, the driver said he didn’t have one and produced a Brazilian passport. An eJustice check confirmed this. The driver received tickets for driving without a license and for improper equipment, and the vehicle was impounded by Sal’s Towing.
The following evening, police noted a vehicle with dark windows traveling north on Route 22 in Goldens Bridge. When asked, the driver said he had no license and produced a foreign ID card. An eJustice check confirmed this and also found the vehicle’s registration had expired.
The officer tested the vehicle’s windows with a special tool used by police and found them to have less than 30 percent visible light transmission, significantly below the 70 percent limit. The driver received tickets for driving without a license and improper vehicle equipment. The vehicle’s owner also received tickets for improper equipment and for an unregistered vehicle. Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle.
Police stopped a vehicle that lacked a front plate on Aug. 7 on Route 35 in Cross River. The driver produced a Connecticut license that had expired. Moreover, eJustice found the vehicle to be both unregistered and uninsured. The driver received four tickets, and the vehicle was impounded by Sal’s Towing.
Dark windows and the lack of a front license plate led police to stop a vehicle on Route 123 in South Salem on Aug. 8. This driver also produced a passport from Ecuador, had no license, and eJustice did not find one on file. The driver received three tickets, the vehicle’s owner received one more, and the vehicle was impounded by Sal’s.
The string of vehicle impoundments continued on Aug. 12, after yet another vehicle was spotted without a front license plate. This took place on Route 35 near the town park in Cross River. The driver’s license was valid, but an eJustice check matched the plate on the vehicle – a van – with a sedan. The vehicle identification number matched the van, but eJustice flagged the registration as expired.
Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle, and the driver received tickets for an obscured license plate and for driving a vehicle with an expired registration. Moreover, when the owner went to retrieve the impounded vehicle from Sal’s, he also received a ticket for failure to maintain insurance on the vehicle.
The following day, an officer conducting surveillance on Route 35 near the town park spotted a vehicle with darkly tinted windows. After stopping the vehicle, the officer asked the driver for her license. She produced a Brazilian passport but said she had a Connecticut license. An eJustice check produced no license, and a laser check of the windows revealed them to be darker than the legal limit. The driver received two tickets, and East Towing impounded the vehicle.
Police assisted EMS personnel in a variety of health situations. They also responded to several instances of downed wires; a cooking fire; an electrical-box fire, which required the services of an electrician; a third minor house fire; and a dog-bite incident that did not require emergency treatment. The latter took place on Aug. 15, capping the first half of August.
Accidents were comparatively light, with Lewisboro Police responding to the following incidents during the first part of August:
Thursday, Aug. 6: A child being walked in a stroller by a relative climbed out of the stroller and ran into the roadway on Main Street in South Salem. The driver of a pickup truck was preparing to turn into a parking lot but stopped to avoid the child. The child fell and ended up underneath the truck. He was later taken to Danbury Hospital for evaluation and then transferred to Westchester Medical Center. He was diagnosed with a linear skull fracture and later released.
Friday, Aug. 7: A vehicle traveling south on Route 123 in South Salem crossed the center line and struck the rear driver’s side of a northbound vehicle. The latter vehicle veered off the road and struck a mailbox. No injuries were reported.
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