Felony DWI Charge For Sag Harbor Resident After Saturday Night Accident

A 22-year-old Sag Harbor resident was charged with a felony count of driving while intoxicated after police said he ran off the road and nearly crashed his pickup truck into a Sag Harbor home on Saturday night after failing to make a turn at the intersection of Hampton and Division Streets.

According to police, Jake Early was driving a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado when he came within feet of striking the home at 10 Hampton Street. The Sag Harbor Village Police Department, Sag Harbor Fire Department and the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded to the scene, where Mr. Early and a 17-year-old female passenger had already managed to get themselves out of the truck. They were both taken to Stony Book Southampton Hospital and were admitted.

“Upon further interview of Mr. Early, it was determined that he was operating the motor vehicle in an intoxicated condition,” said Sag Harbor Village Police in a press release issued Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Early was charged with DWI, escalated to a felony due to a prior conviction from September 2019, as well as second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation and for driving without an interlock device, both misdemeanors, and other vehicle and traffic violations.

The owner of the Chevrolet Silverado reported that Mr. Early did not have permission to use the truck, said police, adding another misdemeanor charge for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He is scheduled for an arraignment on October 30.

“The Sag Harbor Village Police department is working in conjunction with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Vehicular Crimes Unit and further charges may be pending,” the release said.