New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog
A 53-year-old Plainfield, NJ, driver was taken into custody by members of the Garwood Police Department following a traffic accident near the intersection of South Ave. and Center St. According to news articles, a collision took place around 1am in the morning when a white van reportedly slammed into the back of another motor vehicle. Based on police information, a number of 911 calls were made calling officers to the scene as the driver of the van allegedly attempted to leave the scene of the crash.
Officers arrived shortly thereafter to find that one person had reportedly removed the driver of the van from his vehicle. Upon investigation, the patrolmen determined that the suspect was “so intoxicated” that he allegedly could not maintain his balance. As a result, the officers took the man into custody and arrested him for drunken driving. The other driver whose vehicle was hit complained to emergency responders of back pain and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The suspect was taken to police headquarters where he was charged with additional offenses, including a couple criminal complaints — vehicular assault and operating a motor vehicle on a suspended license reportedly due to multiple previous DWI convictions. The man was eventually released on $5,000 bail pending trial.
In another Garwood police incident, a Cranford motorist was stopped for speeding along a stretch of North Ave. The officer in charge apparently noticed the odor of alcohol emanating from the suspect’s vehicle, in addition to observing that the driver’s speech was reportedly slurred. Because of this, based on the news article, the patrolman requested the driver to exit the car in order to perform several of the standardized field sobriety tests, which the 44-year-old woman allegedly failed.
Following the roadside interview and sobriety tests, the policeman took the lady into custody and transported her to Garwood PD headquarters. Once there, she was given a Breathalyzer test, which according to news reports measured her blood-alcohol content (BAC) at twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent. The driver was eventually charged with driving under the influence and issued two additional summonses apparently for other traffic-related infractions.
In a separate drunken driving incident, police arrested a Woodbridge, NJ, driver after he allegedly struck a pedestrian with his vehicle in the early morning hours. According to police reports, a vehicle being operated by the 43-year-old man was headed south along a portion of N. Stiles St. a little after 2am when the accident took place. Officers stated that the car hit a 20-year-old Linden resident near the intersection of W. Blancke St. The victim was rushed to University Hospital with serious injuries, but none that appeared life-threatening condition at the time.
Finally, a motorist from the Monroe, NJ, area was taken into custody by members of the Scotch Plains Police Department after officers responded to a single-vehicle automobile crash along a stretch of Martine Ave. Based on news reports, the 28-year-old woman failed a few of the standardized field sobriety tests that police had her take. She was subsequently arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated by alcohol.
DWI, assault-by-auto charges follow accident in Garwood; NJ.com; December 11, 2013
DWI charge follows traffic stop in Garwood, NJ.com, December 10, 2013
Woodbridge man charged with DWI after hitting Linden pedestrian, police say; NJ.com; December 19, 2013
Scotch Plains Police charge driver from Monroe with DWI, NJ.com, November 20, 2013