Jeffrey Ho, 24, was charged with drunken driving and reckless driving after police arrived at the scene of the collision at about 3:15 a.m. Sunday, the (Danbury, Conn.) News-Times reported Monday.

Officers said they began searching for Ho's car after a grocery store employee phoned authorities to report that a car leaving the store's parking lot was missing a wheel.

Lt. Shaun McColgan said Ho, who was behind the wheel of the car when police arrived, admitted to being intoxicated, but said it did not matter because "he 'wasn't driving.'"

The police said Ho did not know his car was missing a wheel, nor did he know where or why the crucial car part might have come off the vehicle. The officers said they retraced the path followed by Ho -- aided by the scratch marks his car left on the pavement -- but were unable to locate the missing component.