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Accused drunk driver going 130 mph was rushing ‘to see his cat,’ Connecticut cops say

A man was arrested in connection with driving more than 130 mph on a highway in Connecticut, state police said.
A man was arrested in connection with driving more than 130 mph on a highway in Connecticut, state police said. Getty Images/iStockphoto

A man explained to a Connecticut state trooper that he was rushing home to “see his cat,” after authorities said he was caught driving more than 130 mph on a highway.

The trooper saw him speeding around 12:48 a.m. on Jan. 26 in a southbound lane on I-395, before an exit leading to Norwich, Connecticut State Police said in a Jan. 27 news release.

The trooper had to “catch up” with the man before pulling him over, according to police.

After the trooper stopped the driver and asked “why he was driving so fast,” the trooper smelled alcohol when the man mentioned wanting to see his feline companion, police said.

The man’s eyes were glossy and his speech was slurred, according to authorities.

He then failed field sobriety tests that he agreed to take, police said.

The 28-year-old Norwich resident was arrested on charges of reckless driving and illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, according to police.

Information regarding his legal representation wasn’t available as of Jan. 28.

After being booked on the charges, the man was released on a $500 bond, police said.

He’s scheduled to appear in Norwich Superior Court on Feb. 6, according to police.

Norwich is about a 40-mile drive southeast from Hartford.

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This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Accused drunk driver going 130 mph was rushing ‘to see his cat,’ Connecticut cops say."

Julia Marnin
McClatchy DC
Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.
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