MONROE, CT — A 51-year-old Gray Street man was charged with DUI and unsafe backing, after backing his 2008 Toyota Highlander into his wife’s rental car, a 2022 Kia Soul, in the couple’s driveway Sunday afternoon, according to police.
The man’s wife reportedly told police her husband, who had been drinking, asked her to move the Kia, which was parked behind his vehicle, because he wanted to go grocery shopping. She thought he was drunk, so she refused, then he backed into the car, police said.
The husband corroborated his wife’s story, the report said.
Asked by officers if he hit his wife’s car, police said he replied, “yes, because she would not move her car.”
After hitting the front of the Kia, police said the man drove forward a few feet and stopped. Then his wife called the police.
Police said the husband admitted to drinking beer from 12:30 p.m. until just before officers arrived at his home around 3:48 p.m.
He had blood shot eyes, the odor of an alcoholic beverage on him and had a difficult time remaining still and keeping good balance, police said, adding he did not perform field sobriety tests to standard, leading to his arrest.
At police headquarters, breath tests showed blood alcohol levels of 0.1789 and 0.1543, according to the report. The legal limit in Connecticut is 0.08.
He was released after posting 10 percent of $500 bond for an Aug. 21 court date.
Police said the Toyota had no visible damage and the rental car had minor damage.
A large brush fire
Firefighters from all three fire companies extinguished a large brush fire that spread to a swing set and fence Sunday evening. The emergency call came in around 6:27 p.m.
In a post on its Facebook page, the Monroe Volunteer Fire Co. said the fire involved brush and wood piles in a backyard on West Maiden Lane.
There was no damage to any homes, and crews spent about an hour operating on scene, the post said.
Head-on collision
Two drivers were hospitalized with minor injuries after a head-on collision near the traffic circle on Monroe Turnpike Sunday afternoon, according to police.
A 65-year-old Bridgeport man allegedly crossed over the double yellow center line, while heading north in his tan 2003 Toyota Camry, and struck a green 2007 Volvo S60 heading south, according to that driver and a witness driving behind him.
The Bridgeport man told police his steering began to shake and his vehicle went to the right, then jerked to the left and into the south travel lane, the report said.
He and the other driver, a 68-year-old Monroe man, were evaluated by Monroe Emergency Medical Service personnel as the scene and taken to Bridgeport Hospital.
The Bridgeport driver received an infraction for failure to drive in the established lane and both vehicles were towed.
Firefighters also responded to the scene for a fuel spill from the crash.
Police said Monroe Turnpike was closed at the traffic circle for about an hour, until the wrecker arrived to tow the damaged vehicles.
Caught in the breach
A Monroe couple filed a fraud report with police Sunday after their personal information was compromised in an online breach of Global Atlantic Financial Group LLC’s records.
The couple received a letter from the financial firm, notifying them of the hack on Saturday. It compromised their Social Security numbers, accounts and policy information, police said.
Though there was no financial loss, the couple wanted to document the incident before anything happens.
They were advised to contact the three major credit bureaus and the Social Security Administration to flag this incident, to monitor their personal bank accounts and to report any suspicious activity on their accounts.
Unemployment benefits scam
Police received one complaint Friday from a resident victimized by a scam, in which someone fraudulently applied for unemployment benefits from the Connecticut Department of Labor using their names and information.
The victim was advised to contact the three major credit bureaus, to monitor his financial accounts and to report the incident to the Labor Department and the Social Security Administration.
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