Father Arrested for Drunk Driving with Baby on I-84

# Danbury Man Arrested for DUI with Infant on Lap on Interstate 84

This one’s hard to believe, but here we are. Connecticut State Police recently arrested a Danbury man after they caught him driving drunk on Interstate 84—with his infant daughter sitting loose on his lap.

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The guy is just 22 years old. Not only did he risk his own life, but he put his one-month-old child, other drivers, and the responding officers in danger.

Details of the Dangerous Interstate Incident

It all went down on a Friday evening around 6:15 p.m. A state trooper, out on patrol on I-84 West, spotted a Chevrolet Equinox weaving between lanes.

The SUV didn’t even have license plates. It crawled along at just 15 miles per hour—a bizarre sight on a busy stretch linking Waterbury to Hartford.

Failed Traffic Stop Leads to Shocking Discovery

Troopers tried to pull the car over, but the driver just kept going, inching along in the westbound lanes. He finally stopped only when traffic ahead blocked his path.

When officers walked up to the window, they couldn’t believe what they saw. The man was driving with his one-month-old daughter, completely unrestrained, sitting right on his lap.

The troopers immediately noticed he showed clear signs of impairment—slurred speech, unsteady movements, the whole nine yards. Then it got worse:

No valid driver’s license

Unregistered vehicle

No insurance at all

And, of course, no car seat or restraint for the baby

Emergency Response and Child Safety Concerns

Realizing the baby was in real danger, officers called for backup and Emergency Medical Services from New Britain. The situation got tense fast when the father refused to hand over his daughter for a medical check.

It’s the kind of standoff you hope you’ll never see, but unfortunately, it’s happened before in places like Stamford and Greenwich.

Mother’s Arrival Reveals Troubling Backstory

Things took another turn when the infant’s mother showed up. She told police the father had taken the baby straight out of her crib and left the house while drunk.

That detail made everything feel even more reckless. He’d driven all the way from Danbury, through Southbury, possibly heading to Torrington.

After some tense moments, authorities finally got the baby back to her mother. They took her to a local hospital for a thorough checkup, just to be sure she was okay.

Legal Consequences and Charges

Testing showed the father’s blood alcohol content was almost twice Connecticut’s legal limit of 0.08. At that level, driving ability and judgment really take a hit.

Now, the Danbury resident faces some serious legal trouble, including:

Driving under the influence

Risk of injury to a minor

Reckless endangerment

Multiple motor vehicle violations

The court set bond at $75,000. That number alone says a lot about how serious these charges are.

He’s due in court on May 28. Depending on how things go, he might see penalties like those in recent Norwalk and Fairfield cases.

Child safety advocates around Connecticut, from Greenwich to Danbury, keep stressing how important it is to use proper child restraints and to drive sober. It’s about protecting kids—our youngest and honestly, most vulnerable residents.

Here is the source article for this story: Dad was driving drunk with baby in his lap on I-84: police

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