7 Busted for Driving Under the Influence in Greenwich

The Thanksgiving week driving under the influence crackdown by Greenwich Police resulted in seven arrests of drivers accused of driving under the influence of alcohol — and in two cases, under the influence of drugs, according to Greenwich Police reports.

And one driver was busted after crashing into a police car, injuring an officer.

Each year the department receives federal and state grants to help pay for added patrols assigned for major holidays and holiday weekends.

Here’s a breakdown of the arrests made during Thanksgiving week, Nov. 23 through Nov. 30:

• Shortly after 5 p.m. on Nov. 23, Jorge L. Ramos, 58, of 34½ River Rd., Greenwich, was arrested after he was seen swerving on West Putnam Avenue near Dearfield Drive and nearly sideswiping another car. Ramos, who failed field sobriety tests, was charged with driving under the influence and failure to maintain lane. He was held on $250 bond.

• A driver stopped for speeding on West Putnam Avenue near Field Point Road about 10:25 p.m. Nov. 25 was arrested after police said they could smell the odor of burnt marijuana coming from her car. The driver, identified as Tiffani S. Lauderdale, 24, of 700 Summer St., Stamford, had red, blooshot eyes and slurred speech and admitted to smoking marijuana. Lauderdale was charged with driving under the influence and traveling unreasonably fast. She was released on a $250 bond and scheduled to appear Dec. 10 in state Superior Court in Stamford.

• A driver who Greenwich Police say was seen making five consecutive turns without signaling was arrested for driving under the influence about 5:15 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve, Nov. 26. When police stopped Kasey E. Hernandez, 22, of 14 Ritch Ave., Greenwich, officers said he slow, lethargic speech and red, glassy eyes and there was an aroma of burnt marijuana in his car. Hernandez, who admitted to smoking pot before driving, failed field sobriety tests. He also was charged with five counts of failure to use turn signal. He was unable to post $250 bond and is scheduled to appear Dec. 10 in state Superior Court in Stamford.

• Shortly after 1 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, a driver was arrested after police said he was speeding at more than 50 mph on Shore Road near Grass Island Drive and making a turn without signaling, according to a report. Jack Austin-Lee Rivers, 25, of New York City, was arrested after failing field sobriety tests and having “glassy, red eyes, slurred speech … and an odor of alcoholic beverages.” Rivers was charged with driving under the influence, traveling unreasonably fast and failure to use turn signal. He was released after posting $250 bond and given a Dec. 11 court date.

• A Greenwich driver is facing several charges after police said he tried to hide himself and his car from officers investigating the report of a car crash near the intersection of North Street and North Maple Avenue about 11:45 p.m. Nov. 29. The driver is accused of driving his car from the accident scene and parking it on Hillside Drive and then hiding behind a stone wall before being discovered by a sergeant, according to a police report. Jason P. Gubinski, 29, of 27 W. Church St., Greenwich, was charged with evading responsibility, driving under the influence and unsafe movement, after he failed field sobriety tests. Gubinski was released after posting $500 bond and was given a Dec. 15 court date.

• And one driver was arrested after crashing into a Greenwich Police SUV while the officer was on holiday drunk driving enforcement duty at 12:30 a.m. Nov. 29. Details of that crash, which caused non-life threatening injuries to the officer, and the arrest of Kristen N. Vacca, 21, of North East, MD, can be found here.

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