Wrong-way Taconic Crash Caused by Drunk Driver: Cops

MOUNT PLEASANT, NY – A wrong-way driver who caused a crash Wednesday night on the Taconic Parkway faces DWI and other charges.

State police said they received a report of a car traveling south in the northbound lanes of the Taconic at 8:40 p.m. What they found was a two-car collision about a mile north of the Pleasantville Road exit.

Police say 22-year-old Sawyer R. White of White Plains was southbound when he struck 62-year-old Michael Ioannidis, who was headed north on the northbound side, head-on.

Ioannidis was transported to Westchester Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

White was transported to Westchester Medical Center for an evaluation and released. White supplied a breath sample that yielded a Blood Alcohol Concentration of .27 percent, more than three times the legal limit of intoxication, police said.

He was charged with Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, Reckless Driving, Speeding, and several other vehicle and traffic offenses. White is scheduled to appear in the Town of Mount Pleasant Court Jan. 19.