Police Report: Fatal Accident on Hutchinson River Parkway and Possession of Marijuana Leads to Two Arrests.

Fatal crash: A head-on crash on the Hutchinson River Parkway, at around 4:30 a.m., Aug. 20, left one woman dead and two seriously injured, according to police. The 30-year-old female driver of a Kia Sorrenta, with Connecticut license plates, apparently entered the parkway going the wrong direction and struck an oncoming Land Rover. The accident occurred near the Weaver Street exit. The 30-year-old driver of the Kia was pronounced dead at the scene. Her passenger, a woman in her late 30s, was removed from the car and taken to Westchester Medical Center's trauma unit, where she underwent surgery. No information of her condition was released. The driver of the Land Rover, a 30-year-old man, was in serious but stable condition. He was also taken to the hospital. A Mercedes Benz was also involved in the crash, as it apparently swerved off the road to avoid the other two cars and struck a tree. That driver, a man in his 50s, refused medical attention on the scene. Police are investigating why the Kia was driving the wrong way on the parkway – if the woman was possibly impaired or if she just entered the parkway in the wrong direction by mistake. Many drivers familiar with the parkway's entrance ramps throughout the county say the ramps' directions are often confusing, especially in the dark.

Arrests
Village Hall court officers called police about a possible incident of lewdness and indecent exposure at 11 a.m., Aug. 16. The officers stated they were specifically investigating a report of two individuals taking pictures of themselves with their pants down outside Village Hall. Patrol went to the scene and encountered a pickup truck allegedly occupied by the suspects. When the driver of the pickup rolled down the window to talk to patrol, patrol smelled marijuana coming from the truck. Patrol advised the car's occupants about the complaint of indecent exposure, and the occupants denied taking any such pictures. They said they were only taking selfies.

They opened the photo files on their phones and showed the recent pictures to patrol. The photos did not contain any lewd shots, and were in fact just selfies. In checking the driver's license, police learned the driver's license had been suspended on Aug. 12 for failing to answer a summons in the Bronx. It had also been suspended on May 18 for the driver failing to have insurance. The driver – Orville A. Berry, Jr., 19, of Fishkill, was also wanted by Queens police for an unanswered vehicle and traffic offense. The warrant office from Queens did not have any personnel available to pick up Berry on warrant. Police asked Berry if he had any marijuana in his possession, and Berry admitted to having two marijuana joints with him. He told police he had personally rolled the joints. Berry was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. His car's license plates were removed, and the car was towed to the registered owner's address. Berry was released on $100 cash bail and issued an appearance ticket for Scarsdale Village Justice Court, returnable on Aug. 23. The passenger of the car had no outstanding warrants; so he was released on the scene.

On Aug. 20, at 4 a.m., police noticed a car parked in the Scarsdale Library parking lot and stopped to check if everything was OK with the driver. The driver appeared nervous and agitated, according to police. She told police she was on her way home. Later she said she was on her way to Shop-Rite because she had insomnia and could not sleep. Police noticed her speech was slurred, and she appeared confused about her presence in the library parking lot. She could not provide a legitimate reason as to why she was in the parking lot; she was evasive; and she then told police, "I'm going to leave now." She drove to the parking lot exit, and police conducted a traffic stop. Backup patrol units arrived, and police detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car. She said she had not consumed any alcohol or taken any drugs or substances. The woman – later identified as Laura E. Ogden, 36, of Elma, NY – appeared disheveled, and bags, wrappers and other trash were strewn around the inside of her car. She was asked to get out of the car and perform field sobriety tests. She was unable to successfully complete the tests. An alco-sensor test revealed her blood alcohol level to be 0.00. Due to an odor of marijuana emanating from the car, police searched the car. There they found an unlabeled prescription pill bottle and two marijuana cigarettes on the car's center console. The pills were determined to be a generic form of a controlled substance. Ogden said the pills belonged to her, and the label was removed for privacy reasons. She was unable to produce a prescription for the pills. Patrol also found four used marijuana cigarettes, a pipe and a grinder in the car. A bag of 38 pills for a non-controlled, prescription medication were found in the rear console of the car, as well as an empty prescription bottle. The name of the person on the prescription label was torn off. A container of a white powdery substance was found on the car's front passenger seat. Police vouchered it for possible future testing by a forensic lab. It was not opened because of safety precautions. Ogden was taken to headquarters and arrested on the following charges: criminal possession of a controlled substance, fourth-degree criminal diversion of prescription medication and unlawful possession of marijuana. Ogden was released on $100 cash bail, posted by a friend, and issued an appearance ticket for Scarsdale Village Justice Court, returnable on Aug. 23.

Car break-in
A Croton-on-Hudson's man's 2008 Volvo was broken into on Brook Lane, and the owner's wallet was stolen from under the driver's seat Aug. 20. The front driver's side window was also found smashed. The incident occurred between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., while the owner was playing tennis nearby. The wallet contained $150 cash and six credit cards.

Identity theft
On Aug. 15, a Spier Road woman told police she noticed money was missing from her joint bank account shared with her husband. Upon further investigation, she determined an unknown person forged a check and cashed it against the account on July 31. The woman's husband's name was spelled incorrectly on the forged check. The check number on the fraudulent check also belongs to a legitimate check that the woman had in her possession, in her checkbook. Additionally, on Aug. 7, the woman received a bill from FedEx for a package shipped from Connecticut to Virginia. The recipient's name on the FedEx shipping label was the same name used by the person cashing the check. FedEx cancelled the invoice, and the woman's bank cancelled her checking account.

On Aug. 18, a Saxon Woods Road man reported he was at his new Rural Drive house, which is under construction, and there he saw a FedEx driver hand two packages to a man standing in front of the construction site. The man was described as a black man, approximately 6 feet tall, in his late teens, with an Afro hairstyle. The man then approached the teen and asked if the packages were deliveries for his house under construction. The teen said the packages were instead for the house "next door." The teen walked away, got into a Lincoln Town Car and drove off. Alarmed by the incident, the man checked his bank and credit accounts. He discovered eight unauthorized charges on his American Express card online at Saks.com between Aug. 8-15. He called American Express and Saks and informed representatives about the fraudulent transactions. A representative from Saks said that six transactions were pending, and two had already been completed for "biker slim fit jeans." The pending transactions were cancelled. Police noticed surveillance cameras at a neighbor's house and asked to review them. The IP address of the computer used to make the online order was located in the Bronx.

Criminal mischief
An outdoor lamp fixture was vandalized at a Franklin Road house at approximately 2:40 a.m., Aug. 18, according to the homeowner. A camera captured a recorded image of a white SUV stopping in front of the house. Then, it showed a white male getting out of the passenger seat, walking to the walkway light and pulling it out of the ground. The male is then seen getting back into the car, and the car drives off. Police are following up.

Domestic matter
A woman stated her brother took her car keys and would not give them back Aug. 20. The brother said he took the keys because he felt his sister was too intoxicated to drive. The sister said her car was equipped with an ignition interlock device due to a previous DWI conviction. The brother returned the keys to the sister and left the house for the evening.

Suspicious
While on routine patrol, police noticed a white man, approximately in his 20s, standing outside on Mayflower Road at 3 a.m., Aug. 15. The man was described as wearing a light colored hoodie and shorts. Due to the early morning hour and the fact that it was raining heavily, police determined it was suspicious. While police were turning their patrol car around to approach the man, the man walked between houses and disappeared through backyards. Police conducted a search for the man but did not find him.

Open doors
A River Road woman woke up from an afternoon nap and found her front door open Aug. 17. She called police. When police arrived at the house, no sign of criminality was discovered. The woman then remembered that her husband had previously told her he would be taking some recyclables to a collection facility. She and patrol deduced that her husband might have eft the door open. Patrol tried to reach the husband but was unable to do so. The woman said she would talk to her husband and call police again if her husband had not left the door open.
On Aug. 18, a Windsor Lane woman reported her power was out, and her garage door would not shut. Patrol assisted the woman with closing the garage door.
A door was found open at a Black Birch Lane house for sale Aug. 19. Patrol closed and secured the door after determined everything was in good order.

Construction site
A father complained that his four-year-old son ran into an unsecured construction site on Tunstall Road Aug. 17. The father felt this was dangerous and suggested that the site be secured with fencing. Patrol left a message for the Village engineer.

Canister
A Bell Road resident complained about a "propane tank" in front of his house Aug. 17. On scene, patrol determined the suspected propane tank was actually an empty helium canister, such as the kind used to inflate balloons. It had been discarded for sanitation pickup.

Footsteps
A Cohawney Road resident reported hearing footsteps in his hose at 7 p.m., Aug. 17. He was concerned a possible intruder was in the house. Police investigated the house and found no signs of criminality. Given the lack of evidence and the fact that the resident's mother had left the house shortly before the resident heard the noises, police believed the footsteps were caused by the mother leaving the house.

Keys
Police from Darien, Connecticut, contacted Scarsdale police because keys belonging to a Scarsdale resident's car were in a car stolen out of Darien Aug. 19. Police noticed the Scarsdale resident's car was parked in its driveway. Police attempted to contact the Scarsdale resident, but the resident will be out of town until mid September. Extra ridebys of the house will be performed.

Police helped a caller retrieve a set of keys that had fallen into a storm drain at Fox Meadow and Fenimore roads Aug. 20.

Bag
A caller said she could not get into her parked car on Harwood Court because a large black bag was blocking the door Aug. 19. The caller did not want to touch the bag. Patrol arrived and examined the bag. It contained real estate items belonging to a Chas Road real estate office. Patrol reunited the bag with its owner, and the caller was able to gain access to her car.

Screams
A Sprague Road caller reported hearing two loud and "unsettling" screams coming from the house behind his house at 7:37 p.m., Aug. 20. Patrol went to the house where the screams were suspected of originating. A woman who lived there said she was responsible for the screams. She had been watching "Game of Thrones" and screamed during a scary part of the show, she told police.

Help
A caller saw a possibly disoriented woman wearing heavy clothing walking on the active roadway of the Hutchinson River Parkway Aug. 19. The caller and his wife picked up the woman and brought her to Saxon Woods Grill and called police. Patrol and Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded to evaluate the woman. She refused to get out of the caller's car to be evaluated by paramedics. The caller offered to drive her to White Plains Hospital Center. Police accompanied the woman to the hospital and contacted a family member to respond to the hospital and assist the woman.

Cars and roadways
A caller complained there was a "sharp piece of road" on Heacthote Road near Duck Pond Road Aug. 14. The caller felt it was dangerous and warning signs should be erected. Police examined the road and noticed a one-inch drop in the road. However, the road had been designed that way and nothing seemed out of the ordinary or dangerous. The highway department is following up.
A driver with a flat tire parked the car in the Quaker Ridge parking lot to change the tire at 1:45 a.m., Aug. 15.
Police arranged a tow for a car leaking gasoline on Butler Road Aug. 16.
A disabled car was towed from Post Road Aug. 16.
The highway department removed a fallen tree from Saxon Woods Road Aug. 18.
Patrol notified Verizon about a fallen wire, brought down by a fallen private tree, on Brown Road Aug. 18.
Police removed a fallen branch from Fenimore Road Aug. 19.
Police removed a fallen wire from Palmer Avenue Aug. 19.
A caller reported an older model red Mustang with blue panels around the rear wheels sped down Bradford Road and left skid marks Aug. 19. Patrol observed the skid marks and canvassed the area for the car. They were unable to find it.
Police called a tow truck for a motorcycle that had broken down on Fox Meadow Road Aug. 20.
Five car accidents were reported in the village this week.

Animals
Police reunited a lost white dog, found on Ridgecrest West, and its owner Aug. 16.

Police issued four warnings to residents walking dogs at the perimeter of Davis Park Aug. 17. One woman, whose dog was walking at a distance of approximately one foot inside the grass park perimeter complained about the warning. She asked patrol, "Is this a joke?" Patrol advised her it was village code, and she could be summonsed for it. Patrol advised her she could walk her dog on the sidewalk but not on the grass of the park. She said the rule was "ridiculous nonsense" and asked to whom she could complain. Patrol referred her to Village Hall.

An injured hawk was removed from Fox Meadow Road Aug. 18. Patrol contacted a wildlife rehabilitator who picked up the hawk.

Village code
Police issued summonses to landscapers using gas-powered leaf blowers on Tunstall Road and Hickory Lane Aug. 16.

Police warned construction workers of village code regarding allowed hours for weekend work Aug. 19.

Car fire
Firefighters extinguished a car fire on the Hutchinson River Parkway Aug. 16. New Rochelle fire department assisted.

Firefighters
Firefighters checked a gas line after a tree fell on it on Brewster Road Aug 14. No obvious odors or leaks were found. The homeowner was advised to stand by for Con Edison.
Firefighters cleaned up spilled gasoline from Butler Road Aug. 16.
A contractor damaged a gas line on Walworth Avenue Aug. 17. Firefighters assisted Con Edison in checking houses fro possible gas exposure.

This week, firefighters assisted at two car accidents in the village and on parkways. They responded to twelve false fire alarms caused by device malfunction, construction dust, shower steam and cooking smoke.

This report covering police and fire department activity from Aug. 14-20 has been compiled from official information.

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