DUI Charge Friday on Hollow Tree Ridge Road

A 24-year-old Darien man was charged last Friday with driving while under the influence of alcohol on Hollow Tree Ridge Road.

Darien police gave this account of the incident and arrest:

Sometime on Friday, a police officer saw a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt driving north on Hollow Tree Ridge Road near Middlesex School. The officer saw the car didn't have its headlights on, only its parking lights.

When the officer stopped the vehicle and spoke to the driver, Matthew Byrne of 290 Hollow Tree Ridge Road, the officer could smell a strong odor of alcohol and saw Byrne's eyes were red and glassy. Byrne was about half a mile from his home and headed in that direction.

Byrne failed a field sobriety test and was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol and failure to illuminate headlights. He was released on a $50 bond and is to appear Oct. 30 in state Superior Court in Stamford.