A police officer parked at 1089 Post Rd. at about 3:14 a.m. on Sunday heard a car seeming to accelerate at a high rate of speed as it went east down the road, so he started following it into town, according to a police report.
Darien police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of what happened next:
The car, a 2002 Cadillac de Ville, was traveling at 60 mph through downtown for about 3/10 of a mile before the police officer was able to catch up with it. The officer stopped the car on the Post Road a bit east of its intersection with Sedgwick Ave.
There the officer spoke with the driver, Daniel Chaves of Hunting Ridge Road in Easton. The officer noticed Chaves' eyes were bloodshot, his speech was slurred and when he left the vehicle to perform field sobriety tests, he was unsteady on his feet.
He didn't pass the sobriety tests, either, so Chaves was charged with driving while under the influence.
Chaves told the officer he'd been drinking wine at about 7 p.m. that evening, eight hours before his arrest.
At Darien Police Headquarters, Chaves' blood-alcohol level was tested first at 0.1071, then at 0.1029 — both amounts higher than the maximum 0.08 allowed under the law.
Chaves' bond was set at $250. The police report was unclear as to what day he was to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford.
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