Drunken-Driving Charges

A 59-year-old man who police said was driving drunk spun his car around and hit a tree on old Stone Highway in Amagansett last Thursday evening.

Paul B. Tavernier of East Hampton was traveling north in a 2002 Ford sedan at an excessive speed, East Hampton Town police said, when he lost control of the car at about 8:30 p.m. as he tried to navigate the intersection at Side Hill Lane. The Amagansett Fire Department ambulance took Mr. Tavernier to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, where he was treated, held overnight, and released.

The Ford spun 180 degrees, facing south, and the back of the car hit a tree and a small post before coming to a complete stop just north of 675 Old Stone Highway, according to the accident report. Police said Mr. Tavernier appeared drunk; he was charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor. He was arraigned before Justice Steven Tekulsky and released on his own recognizance. 

Gino P. Bombace, 58, of Springs was also arrested on a drunken-driving charge. Police pulled him over on Route 114 in East Hampton on Jan. 5. They said Mr. Bombace, who was driving a 2006 GMC Denali at about 11:45 p.m., was swerving and failed to dim his headlamps for oncoming traffic. 

Police, who said he appeared intoxicated, also found two pills later identified as alprazolam and three pills later identified as morphine in his possession. He reportedly did not have prescriptions for them. 

Mr. Bombace was charged with D.W.I. and criminal possession of controlled substances in the seventh degree, both misdemeanors. 

Justice Tekulsky released him on his own recognizance after morning arraignment.