New London — City police arrested a 31-year-old man who allegedly drove through and "smashed" the locked gate on Thursday evening at Ocean Beach Park.

The driver, Hector Santiago of Wauregan, told police that he had been fishing at Ocean Beach Park earlier in the evening. As he went to drive out of the park, he realized he was locked in and became scared, so he drove his car through the fence to leave the park, according to the police report.

Santiago was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, reckless driving, evading responsibility and first-degree criminal mischief, police said.

The incident was reported at 9:25 p.m. Thursday.

A police officer, who had been investigating another incident downtown, saw Santiago's vehicle pull into a convenience store parking lot on Bank Street, according to the police report. The officer interviewed Santiago as he tried to fix his vehicle's damage. 

Santiago was released on a $1,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in New London Superior Court on Oct. 27.

Park employees told police that preliminary estimates show it would cost about $2,000 or more to fix the damage.