On the Rocks

Eric Gros Joseph McCluskey didn’t know what happened that made him lose control of his car and drive up a stone wall in Carmel.

The 55-year-old Putnam Valley motorist escaped serious injury Sunday in the 12:30pm crash on Vink Drive directly across the street from Carmel FD headquarters.

Carmel Police Sgt. Gary Johanson and Officer James Evans investigated the crash.

McCluskey refused medical attention, advising EMS personnel that he would contact his own physician. The Nissan Sentra suffered damage to its undercarriage and was lifted off the wall by a tow truck.

On Monday, Police Chief Michael Johnson reported McCluskey’s arrest, since a check with the New York State DMV database revealed McCluskey was operating his car with a suspended license. The Putnam man was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, being an unlicensed driver, and operating a vehicle with an expired inspection sticker.

McCluskey was released without bail pending a hearing before Carmel Justice Thomas Jacobellis on June 8.

Assisting at the scene were members of the Carmel Fire Department and a representative of the Putnam Bureau of Emergency Services. —Eric Gross