A charge of driving while under the influence came after a police officer saw a 23-year-old man drive an SUV from Tokeneke Road onto Interstate 95, where the vehicle drifting in and out of the right lane, police said.
Darien police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:
At 2:36 a.m. on Saturday, June 3, police officers saw a white 2007 Ford Escape being driven east on Tokeneke Road. The SUV seemed to be going fast, then it made a sudden right turn onto the I-95 entrance near Exit 12 without signaling. The officer followed the vehicle.
An officer saw the Escape drift in and out of the right lane several times, then pass another vehicle on the right just before the Darien South rest area. Police conducted a motor vehicle stop.
The driver, a 23-year-old Stamford man, had glassy eyes and slurred speech. Police officers also smelled alcohol coming from inside the vehicle when they spoke with him. They had him take a field sobriety test.
An officer asked the man when he had last smoked marijuana. He said, “I smoked an hour ago.” He also said he had been drinking. He failed to complete the field sobriety tests to an acceptable level and was charged with driving while under the influence. He was also charged with failure to properly signal for a turn.
At Darien Police Headquarters, a breathalyzer test showed his blood-alcohol level at 0.14 at 3:22 a.m. and at 0.13 at 3:41 a.m. He was released on a $100 cash bond and is scheduled to appear June 13 in state Superior Court in Stamford.
As is typical in arrests for people charged with driving while under the influence he was told not to drive any vehicle for 24 hours, which is state law. (Police frequently hold an arrestee’s driver’s license that long.)
Three DUI Statistics, According to MADD
According to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers:
- Drunk driving costs each adult in the United States over $500 per year. (source)
- On average two in three people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime. (source)
- Only time will sober a person up. Drinking strong coffee, exercising or taking a cold shower will not help. (source: Michigan State University. “Basic Alcohol Information.” East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, 2003.)
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