Crime & Safety

'Dangerous' Drunken Driver Hits Parked Car, Police Say

Resident of China was three times the legal alcohol limit when arrested, authorities say.

A “dangerous intoxicated driver” was arrested Wednesday after he drunkenly careened down Park Avenue, hitting curbs, signs, bushes and a parked car, police  said.

Mark Marinello, 47, a resident of Shenzhen, China, was more than three times over the legal limit while driving a Mercedes Benz through the borough Wednesday evening, police Chief Darren Dachisen said. 

Patrolman Luis Goncalves was responding at 8:45 p.m. on a report of a crash on Park Avenue when Marinello approached him from the opposite direction and “came very close to his patrol vehicle,” Dachisen said. 

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The patrolman soon learned from witnesses to the Park Avenue crash that the culprit was Marinello, the chief said. Officers were able to catch up to him on Condurso Way.

Marinello’s pants were around his ankles, he had an open bottle of vodka in the Mercedes and was “obviously intoxicated,” the chief said.

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The motorist had struck signs, bushes and curbs along Park Avenue before coming to rest on a lawn, Dachisen said. A resident tried to get him to stop at that point, but Marinello left the scene and hit a parked car, the chief said. 

Marinello was charged with DWI, DWI in a school zone, open container, careless driving, reckless operation, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report an accident, failure to maintain a lane and driving on a sidewalk. He will answer the charges in Madison Municipal Court.


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