Oceanside man arrested for driving high

An Oceanside man was arrested on Tuesday morning for driving while high after state police observed him driving erratically in a car that was missing two tires.

At about 8:25 a.m., Richard Rider, 31, was seen swerving across lanes of traffic while traveling eastbound on the Northern State Parkway near the Wantagh State Parkway exit, according to police. The BMW had no tires on the passenger side, police said, and the driver was not using his blinker.

After a trooper pulled over Rider and approached his vehicle, he saw the driver place contraband inside the glove compartment. Rider showed obvious signs of impairment, according to police, and he was arrested for driving while impaired by drugs. Police searched the car and found narcotic prescription pills, envelopes containing heroin, a hypodermic needle and a scale.

Rider was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal use of drug paraphernalia, possession of a hypodermic instrument, driving while ability impaired by drugs, having controlled substances not in original container, and multiple traffic violations.