A 33-year-old woman driving east on the Post Road hit another car, causing a minor accident, but a police officer who showed up noticed the woman smelled of alcohol and had difficulty standing, police said.
That led to a driving while under the influence charge for the woman after the 12:30 p.m. accident on Monday, Aug. 1.
Darien police described the incident and arrest with this account (with accusations not proven in court):
Near the intersection of Leroy Avenue 2008 Mercedes e350 as the driver of that car was waiting for traffic to turn left onto Leroy Avenue, the car was hit from behind by the 33-year-old Norwalk woman behind the wheel of a 2009 Honda Civic.
A police officer called to the scene directed both drivers to move their cars out of the intersection, to get out of the way of heavy traffic. Both drivers went to nearby Hale Lane. The damage to the cars was considered minor, and no one complained of being injured.
When speaking further with the Norwalk woman, the officer noticed the smell of alcohol coming from her, and when she stepped out of her car, she had to hold onto the door handle to keep her balance.
Asked if she’d had anything to drink earlier, she said she hadn’t. Asked again, later, if she’d had any alcohol or medication recently, she said she “maybe” had a glass of wine the night before.
The woman was very emotional, didn’t seem able to follow the officers directions, to cooperate with the officer or to produce the required documentation when asked for it.
She could not complete field sobriety tests and was arrested on a charge of driving while under the influence. She was also charged with following too close.
As her arrest was being processed at Darien Police Headquarters ,the woman refused to answer questions on a state form and refused to say anything about the circumstances leading to the arrest. She also refused to take a breath test. She was later released on $250 bond and is scheduled to appear Thursday, Aug. 11 in state Superior Court in Norwalk.