Delaware County Crash Leads to Felony Charges

A crash in Franklin is resulting in felony charges for a Delaware County man with a long record of drunk driving and other offenses over the course of more than a quarter-century.  

Sheriff’s officials say they were called with a report of a crash on State Highway 357 in the evening of August 9 and found a vehicle over the embankment but no driver.   

Deputies say 51-year-old Ronald “Rick” Roof Junior of Franklin had apparently run off after crashing.  Authorities located him a short time later and observed Roof showed signs of intoxication while they interviewed him.  

A New York State Department of Motor Vehicle driver’s license inquiry showed Roof’s driving privilege was revoked due to a prior alcohol-related offense and suspended for failure to answer summons. 

He’s charged with felony driving while intoxicated, driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher, and felony driving without a license. He was also ticketed for leaving the scene of a crash, driving without a license and driving without a required ignition interlock device. 

Sheriff's officials say the DMV records show Roof had a total of 20 active suspensions and revocations on his license, alcohol-related offenses and failure to pay fees and penalties dating back to 1994.