Cops: Darien Man Intoxicated, Caused Three-Car Accident

A 47-year-old Darien man was intoxicated when he drove into the wrong lane on Mansfield Road Dec. 30, causing a three-car accident, police said.

No major injuries resulted, police said.

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

At about 6 p.m., Daniel Hughes, of Hollow Tree Ridge Road, was driving a 2013 Jeep north near 106 Mansfield Rd. when his vehicle crossed into the oncoming lane and struck a 1998 Toyota sedan headed south. The Toyota then came into contact with a 2005 Saab sedan, also headed south.

The driver of the Toyota had a small cut on her cheek, and the air bags deployed in her car, which had damage on the passenger side of the front end. The Saab's front bumper was damaged and Hugh's Jeep was damaged on the driver's side of the front end.

When police arrived, Hughes was sitting on a stone wall, and when he got up they noticed he was unsteady on his feet and then stumbled. Police who questioned him could also smell alcohol on his breath.

When asked whether he had been drinking, he said he had, but not a lot. He was given field sobriety tests but didn't pass them. He refused to submit to a breathalyzer test.

Asked about the accident, Hughes said the other vehicle swerved into his lane. He said he couldn't remember anything else about the accident. There was no other indication that a vehicle had swerved into his lane.

Hughes was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to maintain insurance and failure to drive on the right side of the road. He was later released on a $250 bond and is scheduled to appear Thursday, Jan. 9, in state Superior Court in Stamford.