The Kentucky man who drove a car into Saratoga Lake on Thursday said he did it so that the woman police say he assaulted earlier in the day would not be able to use it.
Daniel R. Burgess, 49, of Lexington, Ky., said he knew exactly what he was going to do in a statement to police.
He said he was “going to drive the car into the lake so that [woman] would not be able to use it,” according to the statement he gave to city police after being pulled from the lake near the state boat launch Thursday afternoon.
The Ford Taurus that Burgess drove from the Saratoga Race Course out Union Avenue to the state boat launch on Route 9P belonged to the 31-year-old victim. She told police that Burgess hit her with a closed fist and poured beer on her Thursday morning in a dorm room on the backstretch of the track. The victim said Burgess then left the track grounds in her 1998 Taurus.
Burgess was arraigned on a charge of third-degree assault and two counts of criminal contempt Thursday night in City Court. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. A mental health evaluation was ordered by the court. Burgess remained in Saratoga County jail on Friday for lack of $10,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to City Court on Tuesday.
The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department has also charged Burgess with violating two sections of state Environmental Conservation Law for driving the car into the lake and polluting the water with petroleum products and refuse. He will answer those charges at a later date in the Saratoga Town Court. The sheriff’s department’s marine patrol removed Burgess from the lake as the car he was standing on was sinking.
City police had obtained warrants for the man’s arrest Thursday after the assault complaint and after learning that an order of protection had been issued in a family court in Scott County, Kentucky, directing Burgess to stay away from the female victim, who is also from Lexington.
The victim said Burgess assaulted her twice, once Wednesday night and again around 7 a.m. Thursday. A police report indicated Burgess hit the woman with a closed fist and scratched her chin but did not cause serious injury that would require hospital treatment. The assault charge against him is a misdemeanor.
Police said both Burgess and the victim live on the backstretch at Saratoga Race Course.
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