State police: Man under the influence passes out while driving with 2 young children in car
By Rob Polansky
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WESTPORT, Connecticut (WFSB) — A man ping-ponged his way across highway lanes in Westport and ended up passing out with his foot still on the accelerator, according to Connecticut State police.
Alexander Gomez, 33, had two young children in the car at the time, troopers said.
Gomez faces a list of charges for the Oct. 23, 2023 incident.
According to state police, they were sent to investigate a report of an erratic Infiniti driver on Interstate 95 north just south of exit 18 in Westport.
Callers told dispatchers that the car swerved all over the highway.
Troopers said they were able to see that by looking at Department of Transportation cameras.
They also saw the driver collide with the traffic barrels of a construction zone and a center concrete barrier.
State police said the driver’s erratic maneuvering impacted traffic in the area.
A trooper on an overpass reported that the driver was spotted traveling across all lanes and into a grassy area of the exit 18 gore. The vehicle then collided with the exit sign.
The driver then continued back across all three travel lanes, hit a concrete barrier, and stopped in the right lane because the vehicle became disabled.
The first responding trooper reported finding Gomez passed out in the driver’s seat with his foot still on the accelerator. A 7-year-old child was in the front seat with a seatbelt fastened.
The trooper then found in the back passenger seat an unsecured upside-down car seat with a baby in it.
Both children, though distraught, did not appear to be hurt, according to state police. They noted that neither child was properly restrained.
The trooper gave rescue breaths to Gomez until Westport firefighters arrived. Firefighters administered Narcan, the anti-overdose drug.
Gomez eventually regained consciousness, troopers said. He was transported to Norwalk Hospital.
State police said Gomez complained that he took his “regularly prescribed medication,” but couldn’t tell them what the medication was.
Troopers gave him standardized field sobriety tests, which they said he failed.
They concluded that he was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. A chemical analysis of a blood sample from Gomez backed that up, troopers said.
They also noted that Narcan is only used during overdose situations.
Gomez was charged with transportation of a child under 2 years old without a rear facing child restrain system with a five-point harness, improper transportation of a child under 8 years of age, operating under the influence with a child under the age of 18, failure to drive in a proper lane, risk of injury to a child, and second-degree reckless endangerment.
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