Police: Drunk Kent, NY Man Crashes Van Into Ditch

A Hudson Valley man, with a prior DWI, is accused of crashing his van nearly four times over the legal limit of intoxication.

On Tuesday around 6:15 Town of Kent police were sent to an accident on Route 52 near Horsepound Road.

An arriving officer spotted a van in a ditch and the driver standing outside of his vehicle. The officer noticed that the driver, 51-year-old Michael Collins of Kent was allegedly unsteady on his feet and could smell alcohol coming from Collins.

Collins was arrested for DWI after he failed a series of sobriety tests, police say.

Collins was additionally charged with aggravated DWI when a test of his blood alcohol level gave a .30% reading, over three times the legal limit of intoxication, officials say.

The charges were elevated to a felony when a computer check revealed Collins has a previous DWI conviction within the past 10 years.

Collins was released to a family member and ordered to appear in Kent Court on May 24.