Police: Norwalk Man Charged with DUI Drove Over Route 1 Traffic Island

A 37-year-old Norwalk man was so intoxicated as he drove on the Post Road that he started driving in the lane for oncoming traffic, then corrected himself by driving over a traffic island, Darien police said.

Police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the incident:

The man was driving his red 2006 Lexus IS350 east on the Post Road at 12:54 a.m. on Thursday, April 9, when an officer in a car stopped at Sedgewick Avenue and the Post Road saw him pass by at a high rate of speed without headlights or tail lights on.

The officer followed the vehicle, which was driving in the lane for oncoming traffic at about the time it reached the intersection of the Post Road and Birch Road. The driver noticed the mistake and swerved to the right, but not before the road became divided by one of the traffic islands near the Interstate 95 Exit 13 interchange.

The officer had his lights and siren on at that point.

The man continued for quite some time before finally stopping further up Rt. 1, in front of 701 Connecticut Ave. in Norwalk (where Bowl-Mor bowling alley is located).

The officer spoke with the man and noticed the driver smelled of alcohol and was slurring his speech. When the man got out of his car to do some field sobriety tests, he was unsteady on his feet and swayed as he tried to balance himself. He did not pass all the field sobriety tests.

He was taken into custody and was brought to Darien Police Headquarters, where officers found a small glassine envelope with a white powdery substance in one of his jacket pockets. It weighed 0.8 grams and tested positive for cocaine. He said the jacket didn’t belong to him. He had been wearing the jacket before it was removed from him as he was handcuffed at the traffic stop.

He was given two breath tests. The first one showed an alcohol content of 0.2114; the second, 0.2228. The legal limit for an adult over 21 years old is 0.8, so he was over twice the legal limit and closer to three times the limit.

He was charged with driving while under the influence, reckless driving, failure to drive on the right side of the road, failure to have his car lights on while driving at night, disobeying a signal from an officer and possession of narcotics. He is lives on West Cedar Street in Norwalk.

The man said he had a medical problem and was taken to Norwalk Hospital. Since he was going to the hospital, police released him on a promise to appear April 20 in state Superior Court in Stamford.