National Grid worker arrested after allegedly driving drunk in company van

A National Grid worker was arrested for drinking while driving after he was observed driving a company van erratically in the village of Palatine Bridge yesterday, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office announced today. 

According to sheriff's office, a witness saw a National Grid van leave its lane while traveling on East Grand St., cross into the oncoming lane and hit the curb, causing the tire on the vehicle to pop.

The vehicle then continued over the curb on to a lawn before the driver backed on to the pavement into the correct lane of travel before stopping on the shoulder of the road, the sheriff's office said.

Responding officers detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on the driver, identified as 50-year-old Thomas Ott of Amsterdam, said the sheriff's office.

After failing field sobriety tests, Ott was placed in police custody; he refused to take a breath exam to determine his blood alcohol level, said the sheriff's office.

Ott was processed and arraigned in the Town of Palatine Court. He's expected to return to court today for further proceedings.

Ott has been charged with driving while intoxicated; refusal to submit to a breath test; failure to keep right; moving unsafely from lane; failure to use designated lane; consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle; driving on a sidewalk; and unsafe tire. 

National Grid declined to comment on Ott's arrest, citing company policy. "We are aware of the arrest and it is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation," a spokesperson told CBS 6.