Northport Police Blotter: Man Crashed Into Multiple Cars While Drunk

NORTHPORT, NY — Check out some recent police incidents for the Northport Village area from Dec. 4 through Dec. 10.

The Northport Police Department posted the following information. All charges are accusations and do not signify guilt.

Arrest

• Robert Gerner, 58, of Northport, was driving a white 2011 Ford pickup when he hit multiple cars while drunk around 12:45 a.m. Dec. 6, police said. Police were called to Edgaret Place after a report for a vehicle hitting multiple cars came in, police said. Police found Gerner's Ford had right front bumper damage, police said. Police interviewed Gerner, who admitted to driving the Ford, police said. Gerner's breath smelled of alcohol, his eyes were glassy and bloodshot, his speech was slurred and sluggish and he was unsteady on his feet, police said. Gerner said that after he got home he did not have anything to drink, police said. An officer tried to perform standardized field sobriety tests and was able to do the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, because Gerner was unable to do the walk and turn and the one leg stand tests, police said. Gerner's breath test came back 0.17% BAC, police said. Gerner was arrested and charged with one count of driving while intoxicated and four counts of leaving the scene of an incident (property damage only).

Incidents

• A car on Beach Avenue was damaged overnight, its owner told police on Dec. 4.
• A Fort Salonga Road resident reported damage to a rock wall on Dec. 5. The resident told police he believes the damage was caused by his neighbor's vehicle, but is unwilling to speak to her because of past property line disputes. The man did not wish to investigate further, as the rock wall is eventually being removed, but requested police ask that his neighbor be more careful. Police called the neighbor and asked her to be more aware of the rock structure when pulling in and out of her driveway. The neighbor denied causing any damage but stated she will continue to be careful of the rocks alongside her driveway.
• Police were called to Woodbine Avenue for a possible hit-and-run on Dec. 5. A man told police he drove past a Toyota Highlander that appeared to have been damaged. Police spoke with the owner of the Toyota, who stated that one of his vendor's delivery trucks side swiped his car earlier in the morning. The Toyota Highlander owner said he exchanged information with the driver.
• An equipment fire in the road on Fort Salonga Road broke out on Dec. 7. The Northport Fire Department extinguished the fire. The Northport Highway Department responded and removed the equipment from the road.
• A vehicle owner extinguished his vehicle when it burst into flames on Fort Salonga Road on Dec. 8.
• A man suffered a cut to his head after falling on Main Street around 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8. The man told an officer that while stepping onto the curb while drunken, he lost his footing. The officer said the man was highly intoxicated. Northport Rescue brought him to Huntington Hospital. The officer saw no deficiencies in the sidewalk.
• Police were called to Hillside Place on Dec. 8 for a report of an identity theft. The woman said her American Airlines Advantage account was accessed on Sept. 28 without permission by someone else, who used 38,500 travel miles, which was valued in the amount of $1,136. The woman denied any personal loss and wanted the incident documented for informational purposes.
• A summons was issued to the owner of a vehicle who blocked a Main Street driveway on Dec. 9.
• A Main Street merchant on Dec. 9 told police he has been having an ongoing issue with vehicles not obeying the 10-minute time restriction in front of his storefront. Police saw two vehicle parked in the 10-minute zone, which the caller stated have been there all day. Police waited with the vehicles for 10 minutes. One vehicle left the area before the end of 10 minutes and the other vehicle, which had exceeded the 10-minute lime limit, was issued the appropriate summons. The shop owner was satisfied, police said.
• Northport Rescue brought a woman who fell on Gilbert Street on Dec. 10 to Huntington Hospital.
• A vehicle slid off a Woodbine Avenue driveway on a steep slope on Dec. 10. 9th Street Auto responded and towed the vehicle back onto the roadway.
• A vehicle got stuck in water in the middle of Fort Salonga Road on Dec. 10. 9th Street Auto responded, but the owner of the vehicle refused to let them tow it and was uncooperative with the officer, police said. New York State D.O.T. also responded for a flooded roadway condition at the same road. The department helped the vehicle owner move the vehicle into a nearby parking lot.