NEWBURYPORT - A Salem driving instructor who police say had a blood alcohol level of nearly three times the legal limit pleaded not guilty yesterday in Ipswich District Court to operation of a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Ipswich police said Daniel Winsky, 52, was in the passenger seat instructing two student drivers when he was stopped the day after Christmas.

According to the police report, an Ipswich woman had spotted Winsky exiting his driving instructor's car and entering the Cumberland Farms store in downtown Ipswich. The woman told police she could smell alcohol coming from the instructor while standing in the checkout line with him, the report says. Minutes later, police stopped the driving instructor's vehicle, which belongs to Anthony's Auto School of Ipswich.

Winsky's eyes were "bloodshot and glassy," and he had "a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath," the police report states. Winsky denied that he had been drinking, police said, but he failed four sobriety tests at the scene, including a portable breathalyzer test, which registered .233 The state's legal limit is .08.

After the car was stopped, both driving students said they had not smelled alcohol on Winsky, the police report states. But in an interview with an Ipswich police detective two days later, the report states, one of the students said that Winsky had alcohol on his breath during a previous driving lesson.

Police searched the auto school car when Winsky was stopped but did not find any alcohol. Winsky told police he had been taking cough medicine, and a bottle of Robitussin cough syrup was found in a bag in the back of the car. Winsky was not arrested at the scene, and the car was driven away by another employee of the auto school.

On Jan. 10, Winsky was sent a citation charging him with operating under the influence of alcohol, and at a Feb. 12 hearing, an Ipswich court clerk found probable cause to issue the complaint.

After yesterday's arraignment, Winsky's attorney, John Morris, strongly denied the charge.

"He wasn't drinking; he wasn't driving," Morris said. "He takes his position very seriously, and they didn't arrest him. I think that says a lot."

Morris also said that under state law, the results of the portable breathalyzer test are not admissible in court.

At yesterday's hearing, Judge Allen Swan released Winsky without setting bail and ordered him to refrain from his auto instruction work while the case is being heard.

Winsky, who could not be reached for comment, has not faced previous criminal charges, said Ann Dufresne, a spokeswoman for the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Dufresne said that the registry's Safety and Compliance Unit held a hearing on the matter Jan. 11 and revoked Winsky's driving instructor's certificate.

Dufresne said Winsky could appeal the decision if found not guilty.

Winsky is due back in Ipswich District Court April 24 for a pretrial hearing.

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