Wild Scene At Southington Business Leads To Charges

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A wild scene involving a pickup truck and auto shop in Southington led the the arrest of a Cheshire man on multiple charges, police said.

The incident took place on July 10 and police relased a report on it Tuesday.

It originated with a collision involving a GMS Sierra in the parking lot of L&S Automotive, 1157 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike, according to a report.

The truck fled the scene and a witness was able to supply registration information on the vehicle. It was also reported that one of the owners of L&S Autmotive jumped into the rear of the pickup prior to the driver leaving the scene.

Police said they located the truck at 1783 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike and arrested the driver, identified as Steven Malon, 61, of Cheshire.

According to a report, Malon drove the truck to L&S Automotive, where he backed into a vehicle. One of the L&S owners then went out to talk to Malon, and noticed that he appeared to be intoxicated, according to a report.

Malon climbed back into his truck started to back up, and in the process almost struck the L&S employee before backing into another vehicle located in the parking lot, a report indicates.

Malon then began to drive away and the L&S employee jumped into the bed of the truck, according to a report.

The employee told police that Malon was speeding, swerving, almost hit utility poles and slammed on his brakes on multiple occasions and it caused the L&S employee to be "thrown around" the bed of the truck.

Malon was charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, failure to drive in the proper lane, second-degree breach of peace, reckless endangerment, evading responsibility and criminal attempt to commit second-degree assault.

He was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court on Aug, 10, police said.