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A Scarsdale Police officer on patrol shortly before 6:15 a.m. on Sunday morning spotted a 2013 Mercedes Benz 4DSD stopped on the southbound side of Palmer Avenue, with the driver slumped over in the driver’s seat with the key sitting on the center console.
Police said that the officer approached the vehicle and found that the windows were down and the motor was running, as the vehicle was equipped with a “push to start” feature,” with the car in drive.
The officer said that “the operator was breathing, but was apparently asleep. (He) called out to (the driver) but received no response. (The officer) then tapped his arm with (his) flashlight and the driver stirred, but did not wake up.”
The officer noted that he proceeded to tap the driver - later identified as New Rochelle resident Eurico Lopes, 35 - with the flashlight, which “roused him to the point that he lifted his head up but did not open his eyes.” The officer then shined the flashlight in Lopes’ face, at which point he woke up.
According to police, Lopes was disoriented during the stop, with glassy and bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol on his breath. Before failing multiple Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, Lopes was unable to put the vehicle in park “for some time.” An Alco-Sensor pre-screening test determined that Lopes had a blood alcohol content of .18 percent, more than double the legal limit.
Lopes was arrested at the scene and a check of his license found that it had been suspended in Manhattan for failure to answer a summons on June 23.
Lopes was charged with misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated, aggravated driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of .18 percent or more and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He is due back in court at a later date to answer the charges.
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