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The incident happened in Putnam County on Friday, Oct. 13 around 5:30 p.m., when a Putnam County Sheriff's Office investigator had been driving eastbound on Route 311 in Kent near the Interstate 84 overpass.
According to the Sheriff's Office, at this time, a vehicle traveling westbound on the road passed another vehicle and nearly struck the investigator's car while doing so. The investigator then pulled the vehicle over and immediately smelled the odor of burnt marijuana coming from it.
The investigator, who is a certified drug recognition expert in New York, then conducted several field sobriety tests and ultimately determined that the driver, 44-year-old Carmine Caruso, was impaired, authorities said.
Caruso was then taken into custody and charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs. His car was later towed and he was processed at the Putnam County Correctional Facility, where he was given an appearance ticket returnable to the Town of Kent Court.
Caruso was also issued several traffic tickets as well.
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