Malta Police Chase ends in a Creek

A Malta man has been charged with several traffic offenses after trying to hide in a creek while feeling from a DWI. 

Bradley Crannell of Malta was charged with felony DWI, felony unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, misdemeanor fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, speeding, improper plates, uninspected motor vehicle, uninsured motor vehicle, failing to keep right and passing a red light. 

According to Saratoga County Sheriff’s Deputies, Crannell was initially stopped for erratic driving on East High Street in Malta. While he initially stopped for Deputies, he is alleged to have fled the area. He later abandoned the car at the former location of Spa Brahuas Restaurant on High Street and fled into the woods. 

The Sherriff’s Office subsequently deployed a drone with a thermal camera and spotted Crannell lying next to a creek. He was subsequently taken into custody without further incident. 

Crannell’s DWI was elevated to a felony due to a prior conviction. He was arraigned in Malta Town Court and remanded into the Saratoga County Jail pending further proceedings.