Alcohol Suspected in Crash with 9 Darien Teens

Several cans of beer, both opened and unopened, were found strewn about inside and around a Suburban carrying nine Darien teenage boys the night of June 22, according to Sgt. Carol Ogrinc of the New Canaan Police Department. 

Ogrinc gave the following account of the incident and police response:

According to witnesses and all individuals involved in the crash, the Suburban allegedly drove through the stop sign at Michigan Road and Rt. 123 (Smith Ridge Road) at around 9:22 p.m. 

When officers arrived on the scene, the Suburban was on its hood and the driver and two passengers remained while five passengers fled the scene. 

A state trooper K9 unit a New Canaan K9 unit were dispatched to scour the area for those who fled and determine whether or not they needed medical attention, police said. While the K9 units did not find anyone, a New Canaan officer found one of the passengers not far from scene entering a taxi, and another passenger returned to the scene. 

Three other passengers were identified and their parents were called. The parents said that they knew their sons had been in an accident and said that they were uninjured.

Of the passengers in the Suburban, all male and from Darien, four were 18 years old, three were 17, one was 16, and one passenger's age was not determined.

The Mini Cooper, driven by a 22-year-old man from Pound Ridge, NY with a 27-year-old, woman passenger from South Salem, NY, was travelling north on Rt. 123 when the Suburban drove into it from Michigan Road. The Mini Cooper has front-end damage and the Suburban was totalled in the crash. 

Both occupants of the Mini Cooper and the driver and three passengers from the Suburban were all taken to Norwalk Hospital. 

When an individual is transported to the hospital, the individual's blood is generally drawn. Police will get a warrant for that blood test and could know as early as Monday whether or not alcohol was in the passenger's blood that night. 

According to the Supplement to the Connecticut Driver’s Manual: "The administrative license suspension for a 16- or 17-year-old who drives under the influence of alcohol will be no less than one year if he or she submitted to the test or analysis and had an elevated Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) equal to or over .02. If the 16- or 17-year-old refuses to submit to the test, the suspension will be 18 months."

Editor's note: This article by New Canaan Patch and was first published by Darien Patch on Tuesday. The time stamp has been changed for layout purposes on the Home page of Darien Patch.