Police: Breath Test on Milford DUI Driver Showed More than 4X Legal Alcohol Limit

A 44-year-old Milford man stopped by a police officer checking for speeders in New Canaan was charged with driving while under the influence -- then a breath test showed he had four times the legal amount of alcohol in his blood.

New Canaan police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the matter:

The officer was stationed on Oenoke Ridge Road near Lambert Road when a car passed by at about 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 6. The car was traveling more than the posted speed limit of 25 mph, so the officer stopped it on Oenoke Ridge Road near Oenoke Lane.

The officer smelled the strong odor of alcohol from the driver and the car, and saw two bottles of Smirnoff Vodka on the passenger seat. One was empty, the other was two-thirds full.

The driver, Stephen Russo of East Broadway Street in Milford, did not pass field sobriety tests and was charged with driving while intoxicated and speeding.

Russo was taken to New Canaan Police Headquarters, where the breath test showed the unusually high amount of blood-alcohol level. The legal amount is 0.08 — four times that would be 0.32, and Russo’s level was higher still. (New Canaan police do not release the exact measurement from breath tests and normally don’t release any information about them other than whether a suspect had more than the legal limit.)

Russo is scheduled to appear Jan. 16 in state Superior Court in Norwalk.