Jeffery Vendetta, a 20 year veteran of the Hartford Fire Department was arrested in Farmington for DUI and leaving the scene of an accident.

When police responded to the scene, officers found a car that had been hit from the back and sustained heavy damage. The driver was complaining of some neck pain, but did not need medical attentions, police said.

A witness told police that the driver involved left the scene and directed investigators to Brickyard Road, around four miles away, where they found a car with fresh damage to the front end.

Officers identified Vendetta as the driver, took him into custody and administered breath tests.

Chief Petty Officer Michael Padgett was reporting for duty, when the California Highway Patrol stopped him one mile from the Coast Guard gate at Yerba Buena Island.

In his report, the officer said he smelled a strong odor of alcohol. “And I noticed his eyes were red and watery and his speech was slurred,” the officer said. “As Padgett walked, I noticed he had an unsteady gait.”

Authorities said Padgett had a blood alcohol level of 0.18 on a breath test, more than twice the legal limit.

DARIEN — John J. Dowling, 43, of 100 Hope St., Stamford, a volunteer Darien firefighter, was arrested Aug. 11 on charges of operating under the influence and failure to obey a stop sign.

An officer on patrol saw Dowling, who was driving a 2013 Jeep Wrangler, travel through a stop sign on Ledge Road at the entrance ramp to Interstate 95 south around 1 a.m., according to the report

According to the crash report, Siegel told police: “A person he knows as Andrew was operating the vehicle at the time of the accident, and fled the scene on foot.”

He added, “Officer, I’m not trying to get a DWI arrest, take me to the firehouse and let me sleep it off, and I’ll come back later and deal with this.”

Later, when asked about the incident he stated: “I was driving southbound when I lost control.”

Fire Chief and Vice Mayor Tim Rayburn…is still on the ballot in November…. From Citizen-Times […]