DUI Driver Found Passed Out in Running Car Up Against Garage Wall

A Wallingford man faces a DUI charge after police found him passed out in a running vehicle that was up against the back wall of his garage on Christmas Eve.

A breathalyzer test later indicated that the man’s blood alcohol content level was twice over the legal limit, according to police.

Police were dispatched to 43 Lynn Drive for a welfare check at about 4:51 p.m. on Dec. 24.

The caller told police that he observed a person in a car in the garage who appeared to be unresponsive.

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Officers responded to find a man, later identified as Gary Paradise, 69, slumped over in the operator’s seat of a black Dodge Dart in the open garage.

The vehicle was still running and up against the back wall of the garage.

The doors of the vehicle were locked and it took several minutes for the officers to get the subject to become responsive and coherent enough to slightly roll down the rear window, according to Lt. Cheryl Bradley.

Officers were then able to gain entry, place the vehicle in park and remove the key from the ignition.

Bradley said the subject, identified by his operator’s license as Gary Paradise, 69, of 43 Lynn Drive, submitted to the field sobriety tests, which he did not perform to standard. He was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol.

While at headquarters, Paradise submitted to a breathalyzer test that indicated that he was more than twice the legal limit, according to Bradley.

Paradise was held on a $1,000 bond. He was is due in Meriden Superior Court on Jan. 7.

Wallingford Police Department photo