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Stamford Police Dispatch said they received three separate calls from "traveling members of the community" that they had observed a vehicle traveling south on High Ridge Road that was "driving erratically and that the driver may be intoxicated," police said.
At about 10 p.m., the last caller said the white Pontiac Fiero was traveling south near the Merritt Parkway, police said.
The witness said the vehicle went over the double-yellow line several times and blew through a red light at High Ridge Road/Cedar Heights Road, police said.
The Fiero then slowed to 20 mph and stopped in the middle of High Ridge Road, police said.
Stamford officers rushed to the scene and found the car parked in the middle of the road with the driver behind the wheel, police said.
He was identified as 43-year-old Juan Matzul-Pichol, and he did not have a driver's license, police said.
As he was removed from the car, Matzul-Pichol was unsteady on his feet, had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol, police said.
He failed field sobriety tests at the scene and was transported to headquarters, police said.
There, Matzul-Pichol registered over double the legal limit on the intoximeter, police said.
He was charged with operating under the influence, reckless operation, and having no license.
Officers do roaming patrols and checkpoints for drunken drivers, but they "cannot be everywhere where drunk drivers travel," police said.
"That is why it is so important that if you see an intoxicated operator to call it in so we could start investigating to avoid a possible tragedy," police said. "We welcome and thank the community’s involvement in alerting us to this activity."
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