Troopers arrest man following wrong way chase

WHITNEY POINT (WBNG) -- New York State Police made an arrest following a wrong-way chase that began in Cortlandville Tuesday.

Around 1 p.m., a trooper saw a vehicle speeding while traveling south on Interstate 81. The trooper tried a traffic stop when the vehicle did a U-turn and began to travel southbound in the northbound lane.

State Police said the driver continued in the wrong direction to the Village of Whitney Point and then exited the wrong way on Exit 8 in the village. The driver of the vehicle eventually abandoned the vehicle on State Route 11 near McDonald’s in Whitney Point.

A different set of troopers were able to find the suspect and take him into custody. The driver, Windell R. King, 41, of Hogansburg, NY, was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, a felony. He was also charged with driving while impaired by combined drugs/alcohol, reckless endangerment in the second degree, reckless driving and fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle.

King was processed and turned over to Cortland County Central Arraignment and Processing.

A passenger in the vehicle was not charged.