2026 DUI Arrests In Vernon Remain On Pace To Double Those Of A Year Earlier

VERNON, CT — Vernon remains on pace to double the amount of drunken driving arrests for 2026 compared to a year ago.

As of Monday morning, Vernon police have made a total of 216 arrests involving driving under the influence charges. That's slightly less that once per day and puts the town on pace for about 266 for the calendar year.

That would amount to .73 per day if the pace holds.

In May, the VPD had made 98 DUI arrests.

Though no formal DUI checkpoints had been set up, there is an increased awareness of drunken drivers, police officials said.

"The increased DUI enforcement reflects our officers' commitment to keeping Vernon’s roads safe," Capt. Robert Marra said.

The projected 266 total would easily surpass the 146 made in 2025. In 2024, the VPD made 152 DUI arrests in 2024 and 130 in 2023. And the circumstances have varied from brazen to clumsy.

For example, during a stop on Oct. 11, a 35-year-old from Hartford was pulled over for swerving on Hartford Turnpike at 2:35 a.m. A half-empty 750 ml bottle of tequila was located in the vehicle and the driver, who admitted to drinking that night, the failed sobriety tests and was charged with DUI, according to an arrest report.

Two days earlier, it was three DUIs in one night encountered by Officer Ryan DiManno.

And it all happened in a five-hour stretch.

According to a set of incidents report obtained by Patch, at 11:04 p.m. on Oct. 9, DiManno was positioned in the parking lot at Elmo's Dockside restaurant when he head screeching tires and engines revving, and two vehicles were observed racing. A 43-year-old Manchester man then failed sobriety tests and was. charged with DUI and several moving violations, according to an incident report.

At 2:15 a.m., now on Oct. 10, DiManno stopped a car on Center Road at the Crestridge Drive intersection, according to an incident report. A 40-year-old woman was stopped after being observed swerving all over the road. At first, the woman refused to take a sobriety test, but then consented, only to brace herself against the door of Mercedes as she exited to keep from falling, according to an incident report. She eventually failed the test and was charged with DUI, according to an incident report.

The third DUI arrest of the overnight period occurred at 4:31 on what was a Sunday morning (Oct. 10) and involved a 25-year-old Vernon woman who activated her right turn signal on Hartford Turnpike as if to pull into the Vernon Fire Department but instead turned left onto West Street, according to an incident report. The swerving Ford Escape, which showed up as having an expired registration due to insurance non-compliance, was then pulled over. The woman was determined to be drunk after having a hard time standing during sobriety tests and was charged with DUI, according to an inc ident report. She told police during questioning that she consumed a pint of "Bacardi" and also "Burger King," according to an incident report.

Police said they will continue to watch for impaired drivers as the holiday seasons approach.