BUFFALO TWP — A township man was wearing no shoes and holding a bottle of vodka when officers found his crashed van on Bear Creek Road, police said.

A blood test later showed the suspect, 56-year-old Daniel R. Minto, was nearly three times the legal limit for alcohol, according to court documents.

Minto faces a hearing later this month on drunken driving and other charges stemming from the March 28 wreck. Butler Township police charged Minto last week.

Police said the defendant lost control of his 2007 Ford van about 5:30 a.m. and crashed into a tree over a hillside along Bear Creek Road. Officers got there and found the barefooted Minto standing in front of the van.

They also noticed he was holding a half-gallon bottle of Vladimir vodka, documents said. When he saw the officers, he allegedly tossed the bottle under the van.

He apparently didn’t wait for police to ask what happened.

“The driver outright admitted that he had consumed alcoholic beverages and stated, ‘You got me,’” according to a police affidavit.

The suspect acknowledged that he had been drinking at a township bar and was headed to a friend’s house in Freeport. Officers said they smelled a “strong odor” of alcohol coming from him.

Minto was eventually taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Allegheny County, for a breath test, which showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.229 percent. A level of 0.08 percent is considered intoxicated for drivers under state law.

Police on Wednesday charged the suspect with driving under the influence, driving without insurance, driving with an open container of alcohol and reckless driving.

A preliminary hearing is set for May 20 at District Judge Sue Haggerty’s office in Saxonburg.