Darien Police SUV on Road

DWI for Man, 42, Stopped Wednesday Night on Hoyt Street

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A Darien police officer in a patrol car by the side of the road on Hoyt Street last Wednesday got a tip, according to a police, when a driver stopped to tell her that the white van the driver had been behind was driving all over the road. The tip led to the arrest of a 42-year-old man on charges of driving while intoxicated. Darien police described what happened next in this account (including accusations not proven in court):

The officer, who had been stopped near St. John Cemetery,  started following the van south on Hoyt Street at about 9:48 p.m. She saw the work van, a 2015 Mercedes Sprinter, swerving within the right lane, as the tipster had said it was, and cross the double-yellow line, as the tipster had also described. She pulled the van over near the intersection of Hoyt Street and Briar Brae Road.

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Police: DUI Charge for Woman Driving Over 3X Alcohol Limit in Tokeneke

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A 23-year-old woman driving intoxicated nearly hit a pedestrian on Searles Road last Tuesday, a Tokeneke constable had to drive off the road into a driveway to avoid being hit by the same vehicle, Darien police said. The same vehicle was reported to have struck another vehicle twice in the Center Street parking lot that same day, police said, and a breathalyzer test later showed the woman’s blood-alcohol content at more than three times the legal limit, according to police. Darien police described the events with this account (including information not proven in court):

At about 6:30 p.m. a constable patroling on Tokeneke Trail saw a black SUV driving at a high rate of speed on Cross Road. The constable tried to follow the SUV, but it was going too fast and the constable failed to catch up to it and lost sight of it on Cross Road near Searles Road. The constable turned onto Searles Road, where a pedestrian flagged him down with flailing arms and said she had been nearly hit by a black Ford SUV driving south on Searles.

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Police: A New Industry Cuts Down on DUI in Darien

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Darien police have noticed that there have been fewer arrests for intoxicated driving recently, and they think they know why. It involves something else they’ve seen in recent months — many more Uber drivers (or drivers from similar services) picking up tipsy passengers late at night from bars and restaurants. “Our DWI [driving while intoxicated] arrests are actually down a little bit, and the reason why I think we see that […] is the Uber drivers are doing a booming business in Darien” Police Capt. Don Anderson said at the April 5 quarterly town department heads meeting with the Board of Selectmen. “Downtown weekend nights, we actually almost have an Uber parking lot where people are trying to park as close as they can to our local nightlife restaurants to pick up fares,” Anderson said. He continued:

“I think people are being very responsible.

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DUI Charge for Woman, 44, After Two-Vehicle Accident on Post Road

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A 44-year-old woman was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol after she caused a minor motor vehicle accident last Wednesday on the Post Road, police said. Darien police described the incident with this account (including accusations not proven in court):

The woman, a Stamford resident, was driving east on the Post Road just before 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20, when her Nissan Rogue rear-ended another SUV, a Chevrolet Equinox, near the intersection with West Norwalk Road. No injuries resulted. The Rogue suffered front-end damage; the Equinox, rear-end; damage to both vehicles was minor.