Ballston Spa man convicted of felony DWI; drove drunk on ATV with child aboard

PHOTOGRAPHER: Tatiana Zarnowski

A Ballston Spa man was convicted this morning of felony drunk driving on an all-terrain vehicle with a 7-year-old passenger.

Yancy Cook, 31, of 352 Malta Ave. was found guilty after a three-day jury trial of the DWI charge under Leandra’s Law, which makes driving drunk with a child in the vehicle an automatic felony, and two misdemeanor DWI counts.

Cook was driving a 2008 Kawasaki ATV on Malta Avenue on May 3, 2011, while his blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, authorities said. State police arrested him.

“An ATV is a motorized vehicle under the Vehicle and Traffic Law and the rules of the road apply to it the same as they do for vehicles,” Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy said in a statement. “Further, having his child on the ATV while driving drunk is not only completely irresponsible, but criminal. We are thankful that no harm came to the child due to a crash or falling off the ATV.”

Cook faces a maximum sentence of 1 1/3 to four years in state prison on the most serious charge, and is scheduled to be sentenced July 19.