MASSENA, New York (WWNY) – A Massena man is charged with driving while impaired by drugs after his pickup truck allegedly overturned and struck a house.
Surveillance video caught the pickup truck tumbling right across the driveway of 32 Spruce Street in Massena. It happened Thursday night. Dawn Foster was next door.
“It sounded like a snowplow going by. There was scraping and it sounded like it stopped right out front. So, I got up and looked … I saw the truck up against the porch with the airbags,” she said.
The truck had rolled across another neighbor’s lawn as well. Now, it was stuck in the deep snow.
“The passenger got out of the truck and was trying to open the back door and was telling the driver to just hurry up and go forward to get it unstuck,” said Foster. “They floored it and went forward a little. They got unstuck. Then they backed up and hit the tree and bounced off the tree and took off down the street.”
All that inflicted damage on the porch at 32 Spruce. The owner was at work at the time.
According to neighbors, after the pickup truck fled the scene, it was found near Pine Grove Cemetery.
The driver, 27-year-old William J. Rochefort of Massena, was apprehended. He was charged with driving while impaired by drugs, aggravated unlicensed operation, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, failure to stop and imprudent speed.
“It was a little slippery last night and they must have been going a little too fast,” said Foster.
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