Driving Under the Influence 2016

Police: Woman, 27, Charged with DUI, Thought She Was in Stamford

Police: Woman, 48, Charged with DUI After Driving Intoxicated on Pot, Alcohol or Both

Police: DUI for Man, 61, After His Vehicle Hit Parked Car

Woman, 23, Charged with DUI in 2:47 AM Incident

Midnight DUI for Woman, 55, on Tokeneke Road

Police: A New Industry Cuts Down on DUI in Darien

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

Crashing the Car Was Only the Beginning of This Man’s Troubles

Police: DUI for Driver Speeding at 71 MPH Down Post Road Around 6 PM

Police: DUI Charge for Man, 59, Speeding at 53 MPH on Post Rd

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | October 19, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | October 17, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | October 13, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | October 11, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | September 8, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | April 8, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | March 2, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | February 9, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | January 25, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | January 8, 2016

When a Darien police officer spoke with a woman, 27, later arrested on charges of driving while under the influence on Tokeneke Road, the woman was asked if she knew where she was parked, police said. According to the police report, she responded that yes, she knew where she was: “I’m in Stamford.” Darien police described what happened with this account (including accusations not proven in court):

At about 6 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15, Darien police were called to a lawn in front of a business at 120 Tokeneke Road, where a white BMW was parked and a state police trooper was already on the scene. The trooper said she had been flagged down by a driver on Interstate 95 who told her that a person in a vehicle appeared to be in distress on Tokeneke Road.

A 48-year-old woman who couldn’t pass a field sobriety test was charged with driving while under the influence, although she couldn’t or wouldn’t submit to a urine test and police did not request a breath test, Darien police said. According to the police report, she said she had a small amount of alcohol earlier the night she was arrested. Police found a potent liquid with the active ingredient of marijuana on her and the strong odor of marijuana when they spoke with her. But with no tests done, they don’t know what substance caused her to be unable to complete the field sobriety test. Police described the incident and her arrest with this account (including accusations not proven in court):

At 12:30 a.m., a police officer on patrol was driving east on the Post Road when the officer saw a vehicle going south on West Norwalk Road with its hazard lights blinking.

A 61-year-old man was intoxicated at about 5:15 p.m., Sunday, when he backed his car into another vehicle, damaging it, and then drove away, Darien police said. Darien police described the incident with this account (including accusations not proven in court):

At 5:15 p.m., police were called by the owner of the parked car, who said the other vehicle, a 2002 Audi S8, drove away. The victim followed the Audi to a parking lot at 157 Rowayton Ave. in Rowayton, about a mile away, and Darien police went there. The Audi driver, who lives on Shorefront Drive in Norwalk, was still sitting in his car and the engine was running when police arrived.

A Darien police officer driving on Interstate 95 spotted a car driving as slow as 45 mph and then as fast as 75, changing lanes without signaling and swerving within the lane, so the car was pulled over, police said. The driver was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, among other charges. Police described the incident and arrest with this account (including accusations not proven in court):

The officer was driving on the northbound side of the highway at 2:47 a.m. when the car, a 2013 Dodge Dart, was seen as it approached the Darien North rest stop. The officer activated emergency lights and had the car pull over. The driver was directed to park in the lot at the rest stop.

Just as a 55-year-old woman got off the Exit 12 ramp on Tokeneke Road, a police officer saw her car swerve in its lane and cross the double yellow line, an observation that led to an arrest for driving while under the influence, police said. Darien police described the incident and arrest with this account (including accusations not proven in court):

At 12:19 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3, Jeannette Bernhard of Bridgeport, took a left turn off of the exit ramp onto Tokeneke Road. A police officer was headed in the same direction and saw her driving the 2014 Toyota sedan as it traveled west on the street. The officer followed the car on the Post Road west to the intersection with Mansfield Avenue and pulled it over near there.

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.

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.

According to police, a 33-year-old Stratford man at about 3 p.m. on Dec. 13:

— was driving erratically on Mansfield Avenue,
— while he was intoxicated, and
— crashed a car belonging to his brother,
— left the accident scene (where the car started burning and was destroyed), and then
— went into a nearby house through an open garage, then was told to leave by the homeowner. Police said the family of the man told them that he has an emotional health condition. No injuries resulted from the incident. Darien police described the incident with this account (with accusations not proven in court):

Just before the accident, two witnesses told police that the man was driving erratically on Mansfield Avenue, traveling north.

A 42-year-old man was charged with driving under the influence after a police officer driving behind him paced the man’s car at 71 mph on the Post Road near Hecker Avenue at 5:41 p.m., Sunday, police said. Police described the incident with this account (with accusations not proven in court):

The officer saw a dark-colored 2000 Subaru Legacy traveling west on the Post Road near Rings End Road at what seemed like a high rate of speed. The officer followed the car and paced it for a short distance (that is, the patrol car maintained the same distance and the officer looked at the speedometer). The car was speeding at 71 mph at least at one point. The speed limit in that area is clearly marked as 35 mph.

« August 2022 »

Shortly before 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 28, a police officer watching traffic on the Post Road clocked a car at 53 mph, driven by an intoxicated man who failed to stop for a red light before he turned onto a side street, police said.

Darien police gave this further account (with accusations not proven in court):

The officer was parked at the intersection of Purdy Lane and the Post Road when he saw the 2000 gray Honda Civic traveling west toward Stamford. The speed limit for the Post Road there is 35 mph. The car drove into Stamford with the police officer in pursuit. The Honda didn’t stop for a red light before turning from Route 1 (which is East Main Street in Stamford) onto Hamilton Avenue or Brookside Drive in Stamford (maps differ over whether Brookside in Stamford extends to Route 1; the driver may have traveled north a bit on Hamilton Avenue and then turned right onto nearby Brookside Drive).