Ravena man flees on road and foot, collared for drunk driving

WESTERLO — After flipping his pickup truck in a residential driveway on Route 403, Thor M. Church ran from police and then knocked on a home’s door to get a ride before being arrested on March 26, according to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

Church, 27, of 232 Blossom Hill Road in Ravena, was charged with three misdemeanors — third-degree fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, driving while intoxicated, and reckless driving — and seven infractions — failing to stop at a stop sign, failing to keep right, speeding, speeding in excess of 55 miles per hour, failing to obey police, leaving the scene of property damage, and refusing to take a breath test.

Church could not be reached for comment.

According to the arrest report, police saw his 2005 GMC pickup take a wide turn onto Route 403 in Westerlo and twice cross the double-yellow line in the center of the road. Once Sergeant Philip White turned on emergency lights to have him pulled over, Church drove faster, the report says, reaching 87 miles per hour in a 55-miles-per-hour zone.

White followed for about a mile until he noticed debris and skid marks in the road around Maple Avenue Extension and Church’s truck, flipped on its roof in a driveway. Despite White telling him to stop, Church ran into a nearby field, the report says, and White gave a physical description over his radio: a 6 foot, two inch white man with a bald head and a goatee, wearing a green jacket and jeans.

On Jennings Road, Deputy Philip Milano pulled over a car that was speeding and had crossed over the center line onto Route 405 and, having heard the description of Church, saw him in the backseat, according to the report; police opened a rear door and pointed a stun gun at him, ordering him to the ground and handcuffing him.

The driver and passenger in the car both told police that Church knocked on the door of their home on Route 403 asking for a ride, saying he had come from The Brass Rail bar and had his keys taken.

At the police station, Church showed signs of intoxication and said he had three beers at the bar, the report says. He failed one field sobriety test and would not take three others, nor a chemical breath test, the report says. He was arraigned in Westerlo Town Court and released on $5,000 bail.

— Marcello Iaia

More Hilltowns News

  • Following a meeting he had with Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, Berne Supervisor Dennis Palow told The Enterprise that the county will provide the same level of EMS as it had in years prior, but neither he nor the sheriff could be reached for more information on how the service will be funded. 

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