Police: Man, 62, Drove Intoxicated on Post Rd., I-95

A field sobriety test had to be cancelled for a 62-year-old man stopped Tuesday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated when the man was unable to stand up on his own, police said.

Darien policegave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the incident:

At about 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Mark Breslin of Apple Tree Lane in Stamford was driving in the wrong lane on the Post Road as he tried to enter Interstate 95 at Exit 13.

A caller told police that a Town and Country minivan tried to enter the highway, then the driver found he was in the wrong lane and turned into the Mini of Darien car dealership to turn around.

Breslin, who was driving the minivan, turned it around in the parking lot, but in the process the back of his vehicle struck a parked car in the lot. Breslin later told police that he didn't remember hitting any vehicle there.

Breslin then got onto Interstate 95, but by this point Darien police had entered the highway from different locations. Near Exit 10, officers spotted Breslin's minivan and followed it with emergency lights and sirens on.

Breslin didn't slow down and kept driving at 55 mph for a little way, with police behind him, until he stopped just past the entrance for the Darien South rest stop on I-95.

He was unsteady on his feet when police officers, smelling alcohol on his breath, helped him walk outside for the field sobriety test, which was soon aborted. He told police he didn't remember how much he had to drink at a bar and was headed home.

He refused to take a breath test and was charged with driving while under the influence, evading responsibility by leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, failure to obey the signal of an officer and failure to renew his car registration, which had expired in February. A note was left for management at Mini of Fairfield about the damaged car.

Breslin did not post bond and later appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford. As of March 29, he had not yet been released from jail (his bond was set at $2,500 as of March 29). He is next due to appear April 16 in court.