A man driving a blue pickup truck at about 9:40 p.m. on Thursday was intoxicated when he drove briefly in the opposite lane on West Avenue, police said.
A breath test later showed the man had almost twice the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving, and he eventually admitted to drinking eight beers that day, according to police.
Darien police gave this account (including accusations not proven in court):
Police received a call at 9:40 p.m. that a blue pickup truck with a lawnmower in the back was being driven erraticly and had almost hit another vehicle in the parking lot at Avalon Darien, 137 Hollow Tree Ridge Road.
A police officer who went to the area saw the blue 2001 Dodge pickup truck near the Avalon entrance and driving north on Hollow Tree Ridge Road. The truck then turned left onto West Avenue with no turn signal and drove a short distance west in the eastbound-traffic lane before moving into the proper lane.
The officer stopped the car near the intersection of West Avenue and Joseph Street (here’s a map of the route).
The driver Saul Valdovinos, 48, of Givens Avenue in Stamford, had slurred speech and read eyes. He said at that point that he drank two beers that evening.
Valdovinos couldn’t show the officer registration or an insurance card for the vehicle. He said he was lost and trying to get back to Stamford.
The driver was given a field sobriety test, which he didn’t pass. He was arrested on a charge of driving while under the influence and also charged with failure to drive on the right side of the road.
At Police Headquarters, Valdovinos was given a breath test which showed a blood alcohol content of 0.1543, almost double the legal limit of 0.08, at 10:43 p.m., about an hour after he was stopped on the road.
The driver was given four opportunities to take the test correctly a second time at 11:08 p.m. but did not give enough breath for the machine to take a reading. Police documented that as a refusal to finish taking the test. Refusal to take a blood-alcohol test can result in more severe penalties if a driver is found guilty of driving while intoxicated.
At some point, Valdovinos changed what he said about drinking that day and said he drank eight beers.
He was released on $250 bond and told to appear Nov. 2 in state Superior Court in Stamford.