Darien police Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, a patrol shift supervisor driving a police cruiser late at night this weekend, received minor injuries when he was hit by a man who was driving while intoxicated, police said.
A Darien police SUV with a “push bar” in the front.
Johnson was taken to Stamford Hospital, where doctors looked at injuries to his lower back and ankle, then released.
Police gave this account (including accusations not proven in court) of the matter:
At 3:53 a.m. Sunday, Johnson reported the incident on Old Kings Highway South just east of Queens Lane.
Johnson, in a had been driving a 2015 Ford Explorer SUV west on Old Kings Highway South when a 1999 Saturn driving west in the eastbound-traffic lane collided with the police vehicle. Johnson’s vehicle was nearly stopped at the time of the collision.
The police report mentioned no injuries for the driver of the Saturn, Cesar Lorenzo, 33, of Martin Luther King Drive in Norwalk. Both vehicles were towed away.
Police say they patrol the very twisty Old Kings Highway South a bit more frequently overnight than most roads, in part because intoxicated drivers sometimes use it as they try to avoid police on the Post Road.
According to a Darien Police Department mechanic, the “push bar” installed on the front of the police vehicle (patrol vehicle No. 20) prevented it from being totalled. The air bag in the cruiser did not deploy.
Lorenzo indicated he did not speak English, so a Stamford police officer who could speak Spanish was called in and assisted.
Lorenzo, who had an odor of alcohol coming from him, was asked how much he had been drinking. Five to seven beers, he answered. The police report did not indicate where he was drinking or if he was asked.
He was unable to successfully complete a field sobriety test and was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol. He took a breath test at 5:03 a.m. at Darien Police Headquarters and his blood-alcohol level was 0.1516 (the legal limit is close to half that — 0.08). At 5:23 a.m., another blood-alcohol breath test showed his level at 0.1409.
Lorenzo was also charged with driving on the wrong side of the road and driving without a driver’s license. He was released at 9 a.m. on a $2,500 bond and is scheduled to appear Friday, Oct. 2 in state Superior Court in Stamford.