Passed Out Drivers Now Facing Respective Drug, DUI Charges In Vernon

VERNON, CT — Two passed-out drivers in Vernon fell short of getting a taco and a full tank of gas, but wound up with criminal charges, police said.

At 4:02 p.m. Sunday, officers found a 25-year-old Vernon man passed out behind the steering wheel of his vehicle at the Shell station at 520 Talcottville Road, according to an arrest report.

Officers managed to wake the man up and he consented to a search of the vehicle, which uncovered fentanyl, according to an arrest report.

The man was subsequently charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Four days earlier, police were alerted to a red Jeep at the Route 83 Taco Bell with a man passed out in it, according to an arrest report. Breath tests showed the man with a blood alcohol content of .2366 and .2259 percent, well over the legal limit of .08, according to an arrest report.

The driver, a 35-year-old New Haven resident, was charged with driving under the influence and driving while under suspension, according to an arrest report.