As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, I’d be the first to say that being arrested for alleged drunk driving following an injury accident will not gain a person any points in court. It’s a fact that the police already have a very dim view of intoxicated driving, but combining that with property damage and personal injury and the court will also be unimpressed.
Still, in our legal system a defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty, which is why I and my colleagues are ready to represent individuals charged with drunken driving and drug DUI in Bergen, Union, Middlesex and Ocean County, among others. Regardless of the reasons, when a driver makes an error by getting behind the wheel after having a drink or two, the ultimate result can often be a DWI conviction in a local courtroom.
A news article not long ago described a car accident that apparently was precipitated by an allegedly drunk driver. According to news reports, a 31-year-old Passaic County driver crossed over into opposing traffic along a stretch of Rte 46 and struck another vehicle near the Green St. intersection. The accident, which happened just after midnight on a Sunday, critically injured a 43-year-old Bergen County driver.
Police reports indicate that Xavier Fernandez was operating a Cadillac CTS westbound on Rte 46 in the center lane when for some reason the Caddy veered across the left lane, striking the curb of the center median. The vehicle then drove cross the median and into the eastbound traffic lanes where it collided with a car driven by Matthew Keefe of Park Ridge, NJ.
Keefe reportedly received numerous injuries as a result of the crash including a broken pelvis and internal injuries. Once emergency responders arrived on the scene they treated the man and then transported him to Hackensack University Medical Center.
Police reportedly had Fernandez perform a field sobriety test at the scene of the crash, which he failed. Officers charged the man drunken driving as well as possession of marijuana, possession of a CDS in a motor vehicle and reckless driving. The accident was still under investigation at the time of the news article.
Driver arrested after Route 46 crash that injured Park Ridge man, NorthJersey.com, January 23, 2011