Shelton man arrested in crash at Westport pizza restaurant

WESTPORT — A Shelton man is accused of driving a pickup truck into the Outpost Pizza Restaurant on Main Street in June, which forced the business to close for nearly two months.

According to police reports, around 3:30 a.m. on June 27, officers responded to the restaurant for a report of a car accident. Upon arrival, officers saw that a pickup had crashed into Outpost Pizza, causing significant damage to both the exterior and interior of the building, police said.

Police said the driver of the vehicle was identified as Jacob Teto, 21, of Shelton. The investigating officer reported that Teto showed signs of intoxication, including slurred speech and blood shot eyes. He was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

According to police, because the investigating officer suspected that Teto was driving under the influence of alcohol, he applied for and received a warrant to obtain Teto’s blood alcohol content for the time frame in which the accident occurred.

The results of the toxicology report showed Teto’s blood alcohol content was above the legal limit, police said. An arrest warrant was issued for Teto and, on Monday, he turned himself in at the Westport Police Department. He was charged with operating under the influence of drugs/ alcohol and failure to drive in the proper lane.

Teto was released after posting $1,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned at state Superior Court in Stamford on Oct. 6.

Prior to the crash, the Westport Outpost Pizza had been opened for less than a year. It is one of two Outpost locations, with the other being in Stamford.

The damage was extensive enough that the restaurant had to shut down temporarily, but it reopened in August.

At the time of the accident, police reported there were two other people in the vehicle who were also taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Westport Police spokesman Lt. David Wolf said no more arrests are expected.