Driver in Fatal Accident Had Elevated Blood Alcohol Level

Nine months after he killed a 24-year-old Beacon Falls man in a drunken driving accident, Edmundo Mendieta has been arrested by state police.

The incident occurred on Saturday, April 28, on Route 8, when Mendieta, 35, of New Haven, was driving the wrong way on Route 8 South near Exit 27 and collided head-on with a car driven by William J. Baer, Jr., who died the following day from injuries sustained in the accident.

Mendieta had a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit - his BAC was .221, the legal limit is .08 - and admitted to consuming six Coronas the day of the accident and said that he had nothing to eat, according to an arrest warrant affidavit unveiled Wednesday at Waterbury Superior Court.

 Mendieta has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, operating under the influence of drugs/alcohol and driving the wrong way on a highway.

Mendieta sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the accident, while Bear's lone passenger, 22-year-old Sara Chmielewski sustained critical injuries and was reportedly in a coma. Her condition as of Wednesday night could not be verrified by Naugatuck Patch.

Mendieta, who was driving a white 2003 Chevy van, collided with the blue 2008 Honda Accord driven by Baer.

Baer was a popular young man and mechinical engineer who graduated from UConn and Woodland High School in 2005. He was working toward a master's degree in mechanical engineering.

Naugatuck Patch will bring you more on this developing story.