New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog
A Montville, New Jersey, woman was recently sentenced to 48 months in jail after being convicted for her third drunk driving arrest as well as vehicular assault charges after hitting a police officer and two other vehicles in 2008. Having defended many New Jersey motorists accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, I can only say that this type of case needed serious DWI defense work.
According to news reports, Andora Needleman, 47, pled guilty back in August to a couple counts of vehicular assault, as well as driving while intoxicated, plus leaving the scene of an accident. One assault charge was for hitting Officer Kevin Milley, while the second was for hitting a car with a five-year-old child on board.
Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto revoked Needleman’s driver’s license for 10 years, which begins when she is released from prison. She is expected to apply for early release from prison under the state’s Intensive Supervision Program, which is a stringent form of parole.
The incident in question happened in June 2008. Officer Milley was directing traffic at the intersection of Route 202 and River Road when the apparently drunk Needleman struck two vehicles in traffic in front of her then hit the officer. Milley, who suffered bruises and pain in his back, neck, arm and shoulder, told the defendant in court that he would have pulled his service gun and shot at her as she sped off but didn’t because other vehicles and people were in the area.
After hitting the officer, Needleman kept traveling in her 2004 Ford pickup truck. Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Brian DiGiacomo said that Milley got Needleman’s license plate, which allowed officers to trace the registration. They were waiting at her Taylortown Road home when she showed up.
According to police reports, Needleman’s blood-alcohol level was 0.26 percent — more than triple the 0.08 percent level at which a motorist is deemed legally intoxicated in New Jersey. Since the incident, Needleman has been undergoing treatment for alcoholism.
Montville woman gets prison sentence for third DWI, hitting cop, DailyRecord.com, October 8, 2009