Sleeping DUI Driver Asks Trooper To Turn Off Flashlight On I-95 In Stonington: Police

STONINGTON, CT — A man was arrested early Thursday morning after a trooper found him sleeping in his car on the shoulder of I-95 — and he did not want to be woken up.

A trooper was patrolling the northbound side of the highway in Stonington at 3:18 a.m. when they found a vehicle stopped in the shoulder near exit 91. The trooper pulled over believing that it might be a disabled vehicle in need of assistance.

The trooper approached and found that the driver was asleep with the driver's window rolled down. The trooper then turned on a flashlight.

As the trooper tried to wake up the man, he "began to use his hands to gently paw like a cat in the direction of the Trooper, asking the light be turned off."

The trooper noticed signs of impairment and asked Christian Gonzalez, 25, of East Haven, to step out of the vehicle. He failed field sobriety tests, according to state police.

His driver's license had been suspended due to a previous DUI. Gonzalez was charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs (second offense) and illegal operation of a motor vehicle under suspension.

Gonzalez was later released on $1,000 bond and scheduled to appear in New London Superior Court on Feb. 20.