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STATE v. ORTIZ1/5/1993
n paramedic and part-time constable in Old Lyme, was dispatched to the scene. Muniz pointed out the defendant to Ghirardi as the driver of the automobile, and Ghirardi approached him to determine whether he needed medical attention. Ghirardi observed that the defendant's eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and that he smelled of alcohol. The defendant would not look directly at Ghirardi when Ghirardi was speaking to him, but stared with a fixed gaze beyond Ghirardi's shoulder. The defendant was not standing erect, and rocked back and forth in a swaying motion. Ghirardi believed that the defendant was under the influence of alcohol. Ghirardi did not believe that the defendant was in need of medical attention or that he was in shock. Ingber approached the defendant to determine if he needed assistance. The defendant appeared stable and was able to respond to
questions, but appeared dazed and was staggering. Ingber did not attribute this condition to any particular cause. Alyson Blake, a nurse who witnessed the collision, talked to the defendant after ambulance personnel arrived and relieved her of responsibility for the injured child. She believed that because the defendant was very upset, nervous and anxious he was in a state of shock, but not medical shock. She was not very close to the defendant and did not notice an odor of alcohol. It did not occur to Blake that the defendant was under the influence of alcohol.
Juan Mulero, an investigating officer who responded to the accident, testified that after the defendant stepped forward to identify himself to Mulero as the driver of the car, Mulero noted that the defendant's hair and clothing were disheveled, he was unshaven, and his eyes bloodshot. Mulero had to ask the defendant several times for his license, registration and insurance card before the defendant responded. The defendant looked at the officer with a dazed stare. Mulero detected an odor of alcohol on the defendant's breath. When the two went to the defendant's car to retrieve the documents, the defendant walked very slowly. The officer stated that it was not a normal pace. At the vehicle, the officer noted an open beer bottle on the front console, and empty beer containers in the backseat.
Thereafter, Officer Vincent Vescovi, Jr., was called to the scene to administer field sobriety tests to the defendant. On his arrival, Vescovi observed that the defendant's pants were falling down and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy. The defendant looked around as if he was not paying attention to what Vescovi was saying. Vescovi informed the defendant that he was going to conduct field sobriety tests, and the defendant
responded that that was fine and that all he had had was two or three beers. The defendant's speech was slurred, and his breath smelled of alcohol.
Vescovi administered the field sobriety tests with the assistance of Mulero, who repeated the instructions to the defendant in Spanish. The defendant had difficulty following the instructions. He had difficulty maintaining his balance during the one leg stand test and the heel-to-toe walk test. He could not walk touching heel to toe or in a straight line. The defendant exhibited jerkiness during the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. Mulero and Vescovi concluded that the defendant failed the field sobriety tests and was under the influence of alcohol, and placed him under arrest.
The defendant consented to a blood test, again stating that he had had only two or three beers. The defendant was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where two blood samples were drawn at a twenty-five minute interval.
Sanders Hawkins, chief toxicologist for the state, testified that the defen
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