Sobriety checkpoint a lifesaver

Sparta - The life of an Oak Ridge teen may have been saved by a Sparta Police Department “Sobriety Checkpoint” over the Thansgiving holiday. Police officers were checking a car at 2:42 a.m.when they discovered a female passenger unconscious and having convulsions. The officers adminsitered first aid, including maitaining her airway until the arrival of Sparta First Aid responders and paramedics from St. Clare’s hosptial in Sussex. They transported her to Newton Memorial Hospital where she was treated for alcohol poisoning. Police are still investigating. The checkpoint was set up on Route 15 North at the 10-mile marker from Friday, Nov. 24 at 11 p.m. to Saturday, Nov. 25 at 3 a.m. Four people were arrested in other incidents. At 1:32 a.m. on Nov. 25, a 28-year-old Ogdensburg man was administered field sobriety tests after he entered the checkpoint, Stephen T. Slota of Edison Avenue was arrested at the scene by Patrolman Joseph Pensado. He was later charged with: DWI and careless driving and released on his own recognizance. The second arrest occurred at 1:42 a.m. 22-year-old Martha Fendt of West Shore Trail was charged while she was stopped at the checkpoint with: possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled, dangerous substance in a motor vehicle, careless driving and driving while impaired, by Detective Marc Rubino. She was lodged in the Sussex County Jail in lieu of $7,500 bail. Kara McGuire of Possaghi Road, Newton, was the third person arrested. At 2:20 a.m., she was stopped by Patrolman Richard Smith who administered a series of field sobriety tests. She was charged with: driving while impaired, careless driving and several equipment violations, and was released on her own recognizance. At 2:48 a.m., 23-year-old William C. Newman of Lakeview Drive in Newton was arrested by Sgt. Jeffrey Mase shortly after he was stopped within the checkpoint. Newman was charged with: driving while impaired, refusal of a test and careless driving. He was released on his own recognizance. The four appeared in municipal court on Nov. 30 to answer the charges.