A Fairfield man, arrested for a snowplow collision that spanned four properties, admitted to doing “bumps of cocaine” before the crash, according to his arrest warrant.
Mark Keene, 46, is charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving for the incident on Dec. 28.
It happened just before 7:15 a.m., beginning on Glen Ridge Road, when Keene veered off the pavement and hit a home’s stone walkway, then continued across the front yard next door and into that house’s porch, causing one side to collapse. New video obtained by News 12 shows the plow smash into the porch and then continue over a stone wall and through the neighboring property. A large tree blocks where the plow goes next, but the video includes the sound of a loud crash.
Ring camera footage previously released by police captures that collision—showing the plow cross the street and slam into a parked car in a driveway on Tahmore Drive. The force pushed the car through the closed garage door and under another car inside, stacking the cars on top of each other.
According to Keene’s warrant, the plow’s path of destruction from beginning to end totaled 434 feet.
When police responded, Keene was still sitting in the truck and said he was parked there waiting for employees to come help him shovel snow, the warrant said.
“Keene stated he was not injured and had no idea that he was just involved in a collision," according to the warrant, which also noted he “had slurred speech and pinpoint pupils in both eyes."
The warrant said police asked Keene to get out for a field sobriety test, but as he walked to the end of the driveway, he suddenly collapsed.
"Mark Keene had agonal breathing and began to foam at the mouth and turned blue," the warrant said, leading an officer to administer Narcan.
Once in an ambulance, Keene fought with medics and had to be tied to the stretcher, during which he bit an officer’s hands and arms, per the warrant. But he later spoke to police at the hospital. "Keene stated he was on his way to plow and clear some driveways and had a verbal argument with his girlfriend on the phone. He then did three 'bumps' of cocaine and then remembered sitting in the plow truck in the driveway where Fairfield police found him," according to the warrant.
Toxicology tests done on Keene came back positive for the presence of cocaine, benzodiazepines and cannabinoids, the warrant said.
The crash occurred during Keene's first day on the job, according to the landscaping company's owner. The warrant said he told police he'd just hired Keene the day before with clear instructions to plow and sand two specific driveways on Glen Ridge Road, which never happened.
Keene turned himself in on Jan.8 and posted a $15,000 bond. He was supposed to be in court Tuesday, Jan. 20, but his case was continued to Feb. 25.