Police: Driver Crashes - Near The Station

Wrong place.

Wrong time.

An Ellington man is facing drunken driving charges after he and his car left a trail of destruction - and leaking fluids - near the Vernon Police Department headquarters late Tuesday night, according to an arrest report.

At 11:45, a Vernon Police sergeant was in the front parking lot of police headquarters when he heard a loud crash, according to the report.  The sergeant then saw a vehicle that had heavy front end damage drive by on West Street heading north, police said. He then pursued the vehicle and stopped it on Valley View Lane, according the the report.

Police determined that the vehicle had been driving northbound on Tunnel Road and hit the stop sign and another sign at the intersection of Tunnel Road and Route 30, known locally as Hartford Turnpike, according to the report.

The vehicle continued east on Route 30 then started to turn into the rear parking lot of the Vernon Police Department, but the driver realized at the last second that he was going the wrong way, police said.

The vehicle turned onto the sidewalk and hit another sign, according to the report. The vehicle traveled along the sidewalk, hit a large rock, and followed the sidewalk to West Street, and turned north on West Street, police said.  The sidewalk goes travels along the south side of the Vernon Police Department.  

The vehicle left a trail of anti-freeze from the crash, on Tunnel Road, and it helped the sergeant locate the vehicle on Valley View Lane, according to the report.

Police said the driver of the vehicle is Joseph Janiak, 32, of 2 Francis Ave., Ellington.

He has been charged with Driving under the influence, evading responsibility, driving under the influence of alcohol, and failure to drive in the proper lane.

Janiak's blood alcohol level was .179, over two times the legal limit, police said.

Bond was set at $1,000 and Janiak is expected in court on March 28.