A police officer had to speed as high as 54 mph on Old Kings Highway South at about 1:43 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1 to catch up to a Darien driver who had sped off after the officer stopped his car on the road, police said.
When the officer caught up with the 46-year-old man in the driveway of his home, the man was charged with driving while under the influence, police said.
Darien police described the incident with this account (consisting of accusations not proven in court):
Darien police arrest photo of Thomas Lindsey, 46, of McCray Lane in Darien.
Thomas Lindsey of McCray Lane was operating a black Mercedes CLK350 convertible when the officer saw the car drive out of a private driveway leading to an undeveloped tract of land at 6 Locust Hill Drive at about 1:43 a.m.
The car turned west onto Old Kings Highway South as the officer was driving east on the same road and saw that the car’s high beams were on, and the driver failed to dim them as the patrol car approached.
The officer turned around his patrol car and followed the Mercedes, which sped up. The officer stopped the car on Old Kings Highway South near the road’s intersection with Waring Lane.
Lindsey appeared nervous and said he was coming from a Mobil gas station on Interstate 95. Asked what he was doing on Locust Hill Road, he said he had dropped off a friend there. The officer noticed Lindsey’s eyes were glassy and he had a lot of chewing tobacco on his lip. Lindsey denied that he had been drinking any alcohol.
A check of Lindsey’s license information revealed that he had been arrested on a charge of driving under the influence in 2014. He had an ignition interlock device in the trunk of his own vehicle, he said, but he was driving his wife’s car because the battery was dead on his own vehicle.
The officer smelled alcohol coming from inside Lindsey’s car, and Lindsey admitted that he hadn’t told the truth about not drinking. He said he had two or three beers about 10 minutes before at Ernie’s bar on Tokeneke Road.
The officer called in additional police and waited for them to arrive at the scene, but Lindsey decided not to wait. He put his vehicle in gear and began to pull away, then ignored the officer who yelled at him to stop.
Lindsey sped off at a high rate of speed and the officer followed. In chasing Lindsey, the officer drove as fast as 54 mph west on Old Kings Highway South.
The officer believed Lindsey was trying to reach his home at 2 McCray Lane, which is where Lindsey went, stopping the car in the driveway. (Here’s the route Lindsey took from where the officer saw him on Locust Hill Road to Lindsey’s home, according to the police report.)
When Lindsey pulled into the driveway, the officer drove his patrol car close to the driver’s side of Lindsey’s car, preventing him from leaving out that door. This was done to prevent Lindsey from rushing into his house.
The officer took up a tactical position outside Lindsey’s car and ordered him to get out. After the officer gave the order four times, Lindsey got out. The officer ordered him to get on the ground. He did and was handcuffed. The officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Lindsey.
Lindsey declined to take a field sobriety test and when he was taken to Darien Police Headquarters, he refused to take a breath test.
Lindsey was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, illegal operation of a vehicle without an interlock device, disobeying the signal of an officer, engaging police in a pursuit and failure to dim his high beams for oncoming traffic. He posted $5,000 bond at 5:30 a.m. and was scheduled to appear Nov. 10 in state Superior Court in Stamford. His next court date is Dec. 17.