Danbury man charged with driving drunk, .540 blood alcohol level

NORWALK — Police say a Danbury man has been arrested on a warrant for allegedly drinking two bottles of vodka before 11 a.m. and passing out in his car with a blood alcohol level of 0.54 percent, nearly seven times the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Daniel Pyne, 33, of 151 Shelter Rock Road, was charged with operating a motor vehicle with a registration/license that is suspended/revoked and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence.

Judge William Wenzel arraigned Pyne at Norwalk Superior Court on Tuesday, where he was ordered held in lieu of a $10,000 cash bond.

Pyne, who was ordered not to drive or operate a motor vehicle, is due back in court on March 27. He also has another court hearing scheduled for April 7.

According to court documents, police were alerted to a call of an unconscious male slumped over inside a black Toyota on Flower Lane around 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 30.

Upon arrival, officers found an ambulance and Norwalk firefighters surrounding the vehicle in question, which was blocking a driveway of a home on the street.

The driver, Pyne, was found sitting in the driver's seat, barely conscious and not able to form sentences. Police say his eyes were glassy and bloodshot and a strong odor of alcohol was wafting from the car.

Norwalk paramedics removed Pyne from the car because he was unable to walk and rushed him to Norwalk Hospital for treatment.

Prior to the officer's arrival, a Norwalk firefighter had turned off the ignition to Pyne's car and removed the key, saying he was afraid the driver would become agitated and drive into a fire engine that was parked in front of the vehicle.

Police say there were six bottles of vodka, some empty, some half-full, in the car, along with several bottles of mouthwash, Visine and empty beverage bottles.

In the trunk, police say they found an empty bottle of vodka and a paperback book titled, "Alcoholics Anonymous."

Police attempted to interview Pyne at the hospital, but were unable to do so because he was allegedly incoherent. A check of his driver's license showed a suspended license and a pending DUI arrest from December 2014, prompting police to apply for a search warrant for Pyne's medical records.

On Feb. 24, police obtained a copy of Pyne's medical record from Norwalk Hospital, which revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.540 percent from the Jan. 30 incident.

Police then applied for an arrest warrant for Pyne and attempted to serve it to a Stamford address on Pyne's license, but were unable to reach him. Information was then obtained from Wilton police regarding Pyne and a DUI arrest from March 12, where he used an address in Danbury and a work address of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in Stamford.

On March 23, police went to RBS and took him in custody in the cafeteria area of the building. Pyne allegedly told police that he started drinking the night before the incident and continued on Jan. 30 by drinking an entire bottle of vodka in the morning before work.

He then allegedly stopped at a liquor store on the way to work and bought another bottle of vodka, which he drank on Flower Lane before he passed out with the engine running.