A Bloomfield driver, accused of rear-ending another vehicle then leaving the scene of the accident, has been charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated – he’s accused of being under the influence of something other than alcohol.

Zachary Thomas Sizemore, 24, Bloomfield, was arrested on Friday evening, August 31, by Deputy Marshal Jordan Allor of the Bloomfield Police Department.

Sizemore and another driver caught the officer’s attention when two vehicles went whizzing past him while the officer was sitting stationary at the Bloomfield Police Department garage on North Franklin Street.

Officer Allor said Sizemore was the driver of a red 2009 Mazda 3, northbound on Franklin Street, that drove past him at a high rate of speed.

Then as Officer Allor was driving out of the garage, a red 2017 Chevrolet Traverse, also northbound on Franklin Street, also drove past at a high rate of speed.

Allor hit the lights and sirens and followed, intending to stop the vehicles. But at the corner of North Franklin and Indiana, the Traverse pulled over, the driver leaned out his window, pointed at the Mazda and told the officer the Mazda had just rear-ended his vehicle then took off.

Allor caught up to the Mazda for a traffic stop and said before he could explain the reason for the stop, Sizemore said he didn’t know what happened. Then Sizemore allegedly said the other driver had put the Traverse in reverse and hit Sizemore’s Mazda.

When asked why he left the scene, Sizemore allegedly said he did not want to be there, did not like being on the edge of the road and that he’d told the other driver to follow him. Then his story changed to telling the officer he was going to go back to the scene.

Allor noted Sizemore was extremely nervous and had red glassy eyes, his speech was quick, his balance unsteady, and he had paint on his clothing which was also wet.

When the officer talked to the driver of the Traverse, he said he was stopped at the stoplight at North Washington and East Main facing south when Sizemore rear-ended him. He said he then turned right and stopped on East Main to get out of traffic. He claimed Sizemore pulled up behind him and yelled, “You hit me,” then left the scene.

Deputy Allor reported Sizemore passed one portion of field sobriety testing but failed others, then blew a .000 on a portable breath test indicating alcohol was not a factor, but Sizemore admitted he had smoked a “joint.”

Sizemore agreed to take a chemical test and was transported to Greene County General Hospital for a blood draw before he was booked in to jail. Test results are pending.

During a vehicle inventory, Greene County deputies reported finding plant material that field tested positive as marijuana along with a couple of smoking devices.

Sizemore’s bond was set at $6,000 surety with ten percent allowed. He posted $600 cash and was released on September 1.

On Monday, September 10, when he appeared in Greene Superior Court for an initial hearing, he was charged with:

Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor,
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor,
Leaving the scene of an accident, a Class B misdemeanor
Possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor, and
Possession of paraphernalia a Class C misdemeanor.