A Connecticut State Police sergeant has been charged with drunken driving, assault and other crimes in connection with an off-duty car crash that injured two women.
State police say 37-year-old John McDonald was arrested Tuesday and released on a promise to appear in Middletown Superior Court on December 2nd.
McDonald was at the Black Hog Brewing Company in Oxford before the crash, according to the warrant. Surveillance footage showed McDonald drinking at least eight alcoholic drinks over three hours. He is later seen ordering more drinks and bringing them out of camera view. According to the warrant, witnesses to the crash described McDonald as "slurring his words" and smelling of alcohol.
Troopers say McDonald later ran a stop sign in Southbury and crashed into another car, injuring a 52-year-old Middlebury woman and her 19-year-old daughter. Technology in his car showed McDonald was speeding at 71 miles an hour in a 40 zone.
A breathalyzer test was not administered on scene. Troopers say McDonald later checked himself out of the hospital without medical treatment.
A Southbury Police Officer was the first on the scene and saw a man standing in the roadway, swaying back and forth while on his cell phone. The officer said he appeared injured or drunk. A crash witness, an off-duty Oxford volunteer firefighter, said "that guy is definitely hammered, he's not listening to me to stay out of the roadway," according to the warrant.
