Charges filed in Colonial Lake incident

Lawrence man rolled car into lake April 11.

By: Lea Kahn
   Police charged a township man with driving while intoxicated in connection with a single-car accident when his car rolled into Colonial Lake last month.
   Harvey Hellings, 84, of Mayflower Avenue was charged with driving while intoxicated, consumption of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle, having an open container of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle and reckless driving, police said.
   Mr. Hellings was sitting in his 2002 Hyundai Accent at the end of the cul-de-sac on Lake Drive, next to Colonial Lake, when he took his foot off the brake and the car rolled into the lake at 3:20 p.m. April 11, police said.
   Police found a partially consumed bottle of whiskey in the car. Mr. Hellings, meanwhile, was taken to Capital Health System, Fuld Campus, where he remained overnight for observation, according to police.
   At the time of the incident, Ron Dziminski, a Slackwood Fire Co. volunteer who lives nearby, heard the call on his pager and went to the scene.
   He waded into the lake and pulled Mr. Hellings out of the car, which was beginning to fill up with water.
   The car was towed from the lake later that afternoon.