Cops: Montauk Man Veered into Oncoming Traffic Before Crash, Charged With DWI
A Montauk man with a criminal record has been charged with driving while intoxicated and driving under the influence of drugs following a head-on crash on Montauk Highway just east of Essex Street in Montauk Monday evening. The accident ended up sending all three people involved to the hospital.
According to the East Hampton Town police, William A. Bock III, 62, was driving a 2014 Jeep west on Montauk Highway, descending the long downhill road towards downtown Montauk, when he suddenly veered into the oncoming eastbound lane of traffic, crashing head-on into a 2017 Ford Focus. It does not appear that either driver had time to hit the brakes, as there were no skid marks left behind at the crash scene, which was at the western access to the Montauk Community Church.
The driver of the Ford, Molly Dimefski, and her passenger, Nicholas Guss, were both badly shaken, suffering pain in their lower body areas, and were taken by ambulance to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. Bock suffered a fractured and displaced right elbow, the police said, and was taken to the hospital, as well, where he was admitted for treatment. None of the injuries appeared life-threatening.
After being interviewed by an East Hampton cop, Bock was charged with DWI as a misdemeanor, before being transported to the hospital. He will be arraigned next month.
Bock has already been arrested twice by the East Hampton Town police, with both arrests being on felony charges. He was indicted after those arrests by grand juries seated in Riverhead.
In December of 2005 he was charged with a multitude of felony counts related to dealing narcotics. At the time The East Hampton Star reported that then Sergeant Chris Anderson, now East Hampton Town’s Police Department Captain, said that Bock was dealing narcotics out of a cottage “in front Liar’s Saloon.”
The arrest was at the tail-end of a raid on a major narcotic dealing ring in Montauk, Anderson said at the time. Bock was indicted on the charges and was allowed to plea bargain down to a lesser felony charge. He was sentenced to three years in prison, according to records in the county court clerk’s office, though it is not clear how much, if any, of that time he did actually serve.
In 2009, he was arrested again on a felony assault charge. He was indicted on that charge, and eventually plea bargained down to a misdemeanor assault charge.
Currently, he is facing a charge of drunken driving as a misdemeanor. However, police are investigating the case. The police ask that anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have knowledge of factors related to the event to contact the detective division at 631-537-757. All calls will be kept confidential.
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