Ledyard – A quick-thinking young girl escaped a ride with an alleged drunken driver Wednesday afternoon by running to the nearby police station and having the man arrested.

Police said the unidentified juvenile noticed her driver, 56-year-old Carl R. Sheppard, of 6 Meadow Drive, Waterford, was acting strangely when he picked her up from Waterford to drive her to riding lessons in Ledyard but didn’t think much of it at first. Police did not detail the relationship between Sheppard and the girl.

Once on the road, however, police said the girl observed Sheppard driving erratically, at times on the wrong side of the road and nearly striking several cars.

After unsuccessfully pleading with Sheppard to stop and let her out, police said the girl called her mother. When Sheppard did stop, police said the vehicle was conveniently in the area of the Ledyard Police Department off Route 117.

The girl ran to the police station to report the incident with her mother. Police said Sheppard followed and was administered a field sobriety test, which he failed. He later failed a Breathalyzer test at state police Troop E barracks in Montville where he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and risk of injury to a minor. He was released on a $1,000 non-surety bond and is slated to appear July 18 in New London Superior Court.