Hoa Nguyen
Westchester County police Sgt. Mario Guiliano
was driving a county-owned vehicle when he's alleged to have drunkenly
rear-ended a DOT truck on the Taconic State Parkway.
MOUNT PLEASANT – The off-duty Westchester
County police sergeant charged with driving while intoxicated Wednesday had
been working earlier in the day and was operating a county-owned car assigned
to his unit when he rear-ended a dump truck near a construction zone, officials
said.
Mario Guiliano, 46, of White Plains, a
23-year Westchester County police veteran, supervises the department's pistol
licensing unit, Kieran O'Leary, public information officer for the county
police, said.
Guiliano had worked a day shift at the unit
on Wednesday before getting into the county-owned 2004 Chevrolet that he and
other members of the unit had permission to take home, O'Leary said.
The spokesman said he did not know what time
Guiliano's shift ended. The sergeant was on the Pleasantville Road entrance
ramp to the Taconic State Parkway at 8:23 p.m. when he rear-ended the truck
working on a state Department of Transportation road paving project, officials
said.
About 20 feet from the crash site were 40 or
so workers assigned to the project, DOT spokeswoman Gina DiSarro said. Prior to
crashing, Guiliano would have passed a sign with flashing lights warning of the
impending road work, DiSarro said.
Guiliano refused to take a field sobriety
test and also refused to provide a sample for a preliminary breath screening,
state police trooper and department spokeswoman Melissa McMorris said.
Guiliano was charged with DWI after the
arresting trooper found a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and noticed
slurred speech and watery, blood-shot eyes, McMorris said.
The police sergeant was issued traffic
tickets for DWI and refusing to submit to a chemical test, which are to be returned
to Mount Pleasant Town Court on Oct. 16. He remains on restricted desk duty,
O'Leary said.
The truck driver, who officials did not
identify, also was taken to the hospital and later released. The driver
returned to work on Monday, DiSarro said.
Guiliano, who could not be reached for
comment, last earned $118,693.
