On Oct. 12, 2022, Saugerties police got a call from a Blue Mountain Road resident who reported witnessing a U-Haul truck “swerving on and off the roadway.” According to the witness, the truck almost hit multiple mailboxes and a fence before veering off the road, overcorrecting, and steering into oncoming traffic.
Police subsequently located the U-Haul on Pine Tree Lane in the Town of Saugerties. They identified Kenneth Beams, 61, of Saugerties as the driver, which led to brief foot chase as Beams tried to flee the investigation, police say. He was “taken into custody without further incident”, where police claim a chemical test revealed a BAC level of .21%. He was charged with Driving While Intoxicated, Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated BAC over .18%, Obstruction of Governmental Administration, and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the 1st Degree.
This was not Beams’ first run-in with Saugerties police, nor his first attempt at fleeing law enforcement with a BAC of over .2%. On June 23, 2022, a Saugerties police patrol on Rte. 212 came upon a vehicle that had “run off the roadway and was stuck on top of rebar used to support framing for a freshly poured sidewalk.” According to police, the driver attempted to leave the scene, and was apprehended and identified as Beams, then 60. He submitted to a breath test with a result of .24% BAC.
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