Man Charged With Driving Intoxicated: 'I Hit a Lot of Cars'

A Norwalk man was charged with driving drunk Sunday following an alleged hit and run accident in Stamford.

According to Capt. Fred Komm, an officer patrolling along Nearwater Lane came across a car on the side of the road in the vicinity of around 2 a.m. The light in the 1997 Volkswagen Jetta was on, Komm said, and the operator — later identified as Luis Lanza, 42 — was asleep inside.

The officer detected a strong odor of alcohol emanating from the car and had difficulty waking Lanza up, according to Komm. When he finally came around, Komm said he was "extremely incoherent."

The Jetta also showed signs of being in accident, Komm said. Based on a license plate and vehicle description, police later connected the vehicle to a hit and run accident that occurred earlier in the evening in Stamford.

Lanza was taken into custody and posted a $100 bond. He is set to appear in court June 8.

When asked if he had been involved in the accident, Lanza reportedly told police, "I hit a lot of cars."

Editor's note: The above report was originally published by Darien Patch.

State police tote up the Memorial Day Weekend highway damage

State police used Memorial Day Weekend for an enforcement operation with troopers at sobriety checkpoints and targeting aggressive driving and driving while intoxicated as they patrolled across the state.

Troopers recorded a total of 260 motor vehicle accidents from Friday through Monday, 18 of them with injuries and four fatal accidents. A total of 70 people were charged with driving while intoxicated and 978 were issued tickets for driving without wearing seatbelts. A total of 2,013 speeding tickets were issued.

State police are asking drivers to call 911 if they see what appear to be drunk drivers, "as this is a true emergency," according to a news release from State Police headquarters.

David Gurliacci contributed to this article.