Police Report: Engine Fire Destroys Car at Scarsdale High School, No Injuries Reported

A car went up in flames at Scarsdale High School on the afternoon of March 6.A car caught fire at Scarsdale High School around 3:30 p.m., March 6. The driver and two passengers noticed smoke and flames coming from the hood and ran out of the car before it fully ignited. Police directed traffic and pedestrians away from the car while firefighters worked to extinguish the fire. According to the fire report, the engine compartment was fully involved when firefighters arrived on scene. The car was parked in the school roadway in front of gym entrance on the Brewster Road side of the school. Firefighters applied approximately 300 gallons of water to the engine compartment to extinguish the fire. The hood was burned though, along with a portion of the front fenders and front grill. Engine bay plastics and wires were all melted. Another 200 gallons of water were used to cool down the engine compartment. Burn patterns indicated that the fire originated in the front passenger side of the engine compartment. The passenger area and trunk were untouched with the exception of the windshield failing on the passenger side. The car owner stated that they have been having issues with rodents chewing electrical lines in other vehicles at the residence. The fire was determined to not be suspicious in nature. Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps examined and released the driver and passengers on scene, clearing them from any possible smoke inhalation. A towing company removed the car.

Arrests
Responding to a report of one worker “having an issue” with another worker on a Southwoods Lane job site March 2, police arrived and spoke with the workers. One worker, Adolfo Castillo, 49, of Mount Vernon, stated he arrived at the job site and was sitting inside his car. He alleged that another worker came up to his car window and started to insult and bully him. The other worker claimed that Castillo was insulting him and making “odd” comments about his appearance. At that time, Adolfo allegedly got out of his car and punched the other worker on the side of his head. Castillo then left the scene. Castillo was arrested and charged with second-degree harassment. He was released on his own recognizance with an appearance ticket for Scarsdale Village Justice Court, returnable March 18.

On March 6, Ralph Haas, 59, of Yonkers, surrendered himself to detectives at headquarters and was arrested on a charge of third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle. The victim, a car rental agency on Scarsdale Avenue, alleged that Hass rented a 2019 Jeep and failed to return it or respond to multiple attempts to communicate about the incident. During questioning, Haas refused to answer any questions without an attorney. He was release on his own recognizance with an appearance ticket for Scarsdale Village Justice Court, returnable March 25.

Stolen
A Dobbs Ferry woman reported her wallet containing $50 cash and credit cards was stolen from her desk at her Boulevard place of work March 2.

ID theft
On March 2, a Penn Boulevard man reported his family had been impacted by several incidents of identity theft. These included his daughter’s Verizon cell phone number being ported to a different carrier and two attempts to open fraudulent credit card accounts with Macy’s and Best Buy.

On March 7, a Post Road resident reported a fraudulent cell phone account had been opened in his name with Sprint. He learned of it when a debit collector contacted his for payment of charges that had accumulated on the account.

Suspicious man
An East Parkway business manager reported a man entered the store and started arguing with staff March 8. Police arrived and the manager advised that the man had left. He was located at the Scarsdale train station. MTA police was informed. MTA police reported that the man requested medical assistance. Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps transported the man to White Plains Hospital Center for evaluation, with MTA police.

Scofflaw
On March 3, police called a tow for a car with scofflaw status parked in a Wayside Lane parking lot. The driver arrived on scene, spoke with police, and paid the tow truck driver a fee to remove the tow hook apparatus from the car. The driver went to Village Hall to resolve her unpaid parking tickets.

Cars and roadways
A woman sitting in her car in DeCicco’s Marketplace parking lot reported feeling a “jolt” as a car pulled into the space next to hers. The driver of that car said he did not think he struck the woman’s car. Police helped the parties exchange information.

Police directed traffic around a disabled car on Greenacres Avenue while the driver awaited a tow March 2.

Police assisted with traffic flow on Boulevard in order for buses to maneuver around parked cars during school dismissal hours March 3.

Police issued a summons to the owner of a double-parked truck on Christie Place March 5.

A Brown Road resident reported seeing the same unknown car on the block for several days in a row and asked police to increase patrols of the street March 5.

Police stood by to provide traffic assistance while the driver of a disabled car awaited a tow at Drake and Heathcote roads March 6.

Police helped a driver find her parked car in East Parkway March 6.

A driver reported another car’s door hit her car while her car was parked on Palmer Avenue, causing minor damage to her car’s mirror, March 7.

Police helped a pedestrian cross Weaver Street March 8.

Responding to a report of an unknown, occupied Honda Civic parked on Sheldrake Road March 6, police encountered the car, which was parked and running. The 22-year-old Ossining driver said he pulled over because he was very tired. Police noticed numerous “Angry Orchard” bottles in the car and asked the driver to perform field sobriety tests. Those tests indicated no signs of intoxication. A license check revealed that the driver’s license had been suspended by the town of Cortlandville for failure to pay a fine.

Police instructed the driver to refrain from driving the car and make alternate arrangements for transportation. He was instructed on how to resolve the violation and pay the fine.

Seven car accidents were reported in the village this week.

Noise
An alarm was sounding on Popham Road March 3. Police investigated and found an alarm in the bushes, near a dumpster, making the noise and removed the alarm’s batteries. It was determined that the alarm was debris from a construction site.
Police issued a summons to the driver of a gas delivery truck for a noise violation due to delivering gasoline to a Scarsdale Avenue gas station after 11 p.m., March 5.

Dogs
A Bradley Road woman reported her dog had an altercation with another dog while out for a walk at Madison and Carman roads March 3. The other dog, which was muzzled, allegedly ran at her dog, knocking both the woman and her dog down. The other dog’s owner was allegedly on her cellphone during the incident and not properly handling her dog. No scratches or bites occurred.

A Drake Road resident’s dog collapsed in his driveway March 6. The resident requested help. When police arrived, the dog was already in the resident’s car, to be taken to an animal hospital.

Lost and found
On March 6, a man found a set of keys at Palmer Avenue and Secor Road and turned them over to police for safekeeping.

An anonymous party brought found a key fob on Crane Road and brought it to headquarters for safekeeping March 6.

An ATM card was left behind in a bank vestibule on Christie Place March 7. Police identified the owner and returned the card to her.

Firefighters
On March 2, firefighters detected a gas leak inside a Butler Road house. The stood by for Con Edison.

On March 5, firefighters assisted Fairview Fire District and Hartsdale firefighters who were battling a working fire of a wood-frame house on Edgepark Road.

On March 7, firefighters closed an open stove valve that had been leaking gas into a White Road house. They ventilated the house to restore air quality.

On March 7, firefighters assisted Hartsdale firefighters with an electrical fire in a Ridge Road building.

This report, covering police and fire department activity from March 2-8, has been compiled from official information.

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