David F. Flease, 63, New London, is charged with operating while intoxicated causing injury and with a fourth offense of drunken driving.
Shortly after 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, New London police were dispatched to a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Wolf River Avenue and Werner Allen Boulevard.
When Officer Todd Sarazin arrived, he found a nurse treating an injured driver in one of the vehicles. Flease, who was driving a black Chevy Blazer, was standing outside his vehicle.
According to the criminal complaint, Flease told Sarazin he was driving home from the supper club when he made a left turn and collided with the other vehicle.
Sarazin could smell alcohol and asked Flease to estimate how much he had to drink. Flease’s speech was reportedly so slurred that Sarazin could not understand him.
Flease had a 0.198 blood-alcohol level, the complaint says. He was previously convicted of drunken driving in August 1991, October 1992 and August 2002.
The other driver in the crash was taken to a New London hospital for treatment of his injuries.