Tireless -- A DUI Arrest in Greenwich

It was the grinding sound that caught the attention of Greenwich Police Officer James Smith.

It was about 7:15 p.m. Sunday when Smith was on patrol on Hamilton Avenue in the Chickahominy neighborhood of town when he heard “a loud noise coming down Hamilton Avenue similar to that of a snowplow blade grinding against the asphalt.”

Smith found the vehicle making the offending sound and it turned out that the two right-side tires of the car were blown out, according to a Greenwich Police report. After stopping the driver, who reportedly struck a fence near 37 St. Roch Ave., Smith smelled a “fruity odor consistent with alcoholic type beverages,” according to the report.

The driver, with watery eyes, denied having drunk any alcoholic beverages or ingesting any drugs, according to the report. But, the driver told Smith she “was not sure how she had blown out her tires but may have been involved in an accident somewhere,” according to the report. The driver said she “was unsure where the accident may have taken place,” according to the report.

After failing field sobriety tests and taking the driver into custody, police found a half-full one-liter bottle of Hennessy cognac in the car, according to the report. During a search of the driver’s belongings, police found a half-pill of Ritalin tucked inside a wallet.

Evelina S. Goransson, 21, of Santa Barbara, CA, was charged with driving under the influence, operating with unsafe tires, failure to keep a drug in original container and possession of a controlled substance. Goransson was released after posting $250 bond and is scheduled to appear Dec. 29 in state Superior Court in Stamford.

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