Video Games and Beer Leads to DUI

A session of video games and beer got a reality check earlier this month when one of the gamers traded his controller for a set of car keys and drove his mother's Nissan into the base of a nearby house, police said.

Twenty-two-year-old Eric Cerino of Stratford was charged with DUI, among other charges, for the alleged incident at 50 Country Club Circle, Stratford.

Police said when they arrived at 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 15 the 2004 Nissan Maxima appeared to have hit the base of the house and then went through a fence.

Cerino was standing by the car and another male, Andrew Fabso, was on the ground with injuries to his right wrist and right hip, police said.

Fabso, who lives at 20 Country Club Circle, reportedly told police he and Cerino were inside his home playing the shooter game Call of Duty and knocking back a few beers.

After that, however, is where things get blurry.

Police said Fabso, who is also 22, told them "he was standing outside the car and the vehicle just took off dragging him from his home." He did not identify his gaming buddy as the driver.

Cerino reportedly told police he didn't know who was driving the car and that he was sitting in the backseat.

But a neighbor, who heard the collision between the car and the house from the inside of his home, said when he looked to see what caused the loud crash Cerino was behind the wheel, police said.

Cerino failed a field sobriety test at the scene and, at police headquarters, blew a blood alcohol content of.156, almost double the legal limit, police said.

Cerino also was charged with failure to drive right and operating a motor vehicle without a license. He posted $500 bond and was due in court Jan. 28.

Arrest information provided by the Stratford Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Questions about this report can be forwarded to jason.bagley@patch.com.