Crime & Safety

Helluva Ride? Taxi Trip Ends with DUI for Cabbie

This article was written by David Gurliacci. 


Darien police said a taxi passenger told them the first indication that a trip from Westport would be rather unusual came when the cab turned up with an older couple already in it.

And they got out because they were concerned about the cabbie driving the vehicle.

That cab trip ended up with the driver arrested on a charge of driving while under the influence—after running out of gas and stopping the cab in the middle of the Post Road, police said.

The driver, Robert Emmons, 51, of Bridgeport, was also charged with driving with a suspended license and second-degree reckless endangerment.

[Update 1:45 p.m.: Darien police said Emmons' driver license was suspended effective March 6, 2013.]

Police gave this account of the incident and arrest:

On Sunday, Emmons picked up a passenger in Westport. After the older couple got out, the passenger told police, Emmons was "driving angry with an attitude" and "drove like a speed demon." He was also repeatedly slamming on the vehicle's brakes, she told police.

At about 6 p.m., the taxi ran out of gas on the Post Road. A service station employee called police to tell them that the cab was parked in the middle of the road as Emmons bought a gas can and $4 worth of gasoline.

By the time police arrived, the car was in the parking lot of The Gardener's Center and Florist, 1396 Post Rd., and Emmons was behind the wheel. A police officer immediately smelled alcohol on the driver and had him perform field sobriety tests, which Emmons failed.

Emmons was arrested and held on $100 bond, which he did not post, and was scheduled for an appearance today, Monday, in state Superior Court in Stamford.


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