WATERBURY, Connecticut (WFSB) — A Waterbury politician had 16 drinks in a roughly 10-hour period before getting into a hit-and-run crash that hospitalized a teen, according to police.
According to his arrest warrant, now-resigned Zoning Commission chair John Egan paid for 14 drinks between the hours of 2:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Verdi.
His first tab had 5 “Long Drinks”, 1 Michelob Ultra, 1 Bud Light, 2 Old Fashioned, and 1 Josh Cabernet Sauvaugnon. A second tab had 2 spiked seltzers, 1 High Noon and 1 Long Drink.
Waterbury police tracked down security footage from the bar showing he drank an amount consistent with his tab.
From there, police said Egan left Verdi in his Cadillac XT-5 and drove to The Cave, a bar on East Main.
A bar employee told police that Egan was served two “12 oz Bud Lights”.
Statements from a bar employee show Egan was served two more drinks there before security video police gathered from across the street captured him driving away.
On another set of cameras, police saw Egan driving on West Main just before midnight Friday.
When he attempted to turn left on Highland Avenue, he hit 17-year-old Bryan Calle, who was on a scooter.
Police said after the impact, Egan kept driving.
“In this situation there was evidence that there was a significant amount of alcohol that was consumed,” said Waterbury Police Lt. Ryan Bessette.
Waterbury police said that when they brought those findings to the state’s attorney: “The evidence that we had pertaining to the alcohol consumption did not rise to the level of probable cause for a DUI charge. Field observations, witness testimony observing his demeanor or his condition at the time, things that would have helped to bring it probable cause level, we just didn’t have.”
Waterbury police also said that while they identified the car within 24 hours of the crash, it took additional time to prove Egan was the one behind the wheel, making it impossible to do an accurate sobriety test.
“This is a tragic situation our hearts go out the family right now,” Bessette said.
There’s another strange twist. Less than a quarter mile down the road from the last bar where Egan was seen drinking is a barbershop. At the barbershop works a relative of the victim Egan was about to hit.
Eyewitness News spoke to the family of Calle on Wednesday. They said the doctors at Connecticut Children’s said it will take a miracle for the teen to come off life support.
There’s a go fund me campaign to bring Calle’s parents from Ecuador to see their son.
“If the medical condition changes, the state’s attorney’s office will upgrade the charges,” Bessette said.
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