The driver who caused a two-vehicle accident on Saturday, June 25 was too drunk to stand up without supporting himself against his own car, according to police.
Darien police gave this account of the incident, including accusations not proven in court:
Scott Tracey, then 53, was driving either on the Post Road near Bertucci’s restaurant at 54 Post Road or in the restaurant parking lot (the announcement didn’t specify) and following a vehicle in front of him too closely when his vehicle struck the other one.
When the officer who went to the scene asked Tracey for his insurance card, the driver couldn’t find it. Police determined that Tracey’s vehicle registration had been suspended due to lack of insurance.
The driver of the other vehicle told the officer that Tracey might be intoxicated “due to his actions after the impact,” according to the announcement, which didn’t provide details about those actions.
The officer asked Tracey if he’d been drinking alcohol, and Tracey admitted that he was intoxicated. The officer also smelled the odor of alcohol coming from inside Tracey’s car. When Tracey couldn’t stand on his own without supporting himself with his vehicle, the idea of him performing field sobriety tests was dropped, and he was arrested.
A Police Headquarters, the driver again said he was intoxicated but refused to take a breathalyzer test.
Tracey, of East Rocks Road in Norwalk, was charged with driving while under the influence, failure to follow a vehicle at a reasonable distance, failure to insure a motor vehicle and driving with suspended registration (because of the lack of insurance). He was released on a $50 and told to appear July 17 in state Superior Court in Stamford (a courthouse which is again open).