This section is based on data provided to Pascack Press weekly by neighborhood police departments. Due to pending court appearances and other variations, the following information shall be read in ‘press time’ context.
Local man charged with DWI ends up at hospital
Police arrested a Hawthorne Avenue man Jan. 17 on several charges after stopping him for blocking traffic and nearly striking a utility pole with his sedan.
According to the police report, as soon as the officer reached the driver’s side window he smelled the strong odor of alcoholic beverage.
The driver was pale, had slow, slurred speech, and had bloodshot and glassy eyes. He denied having had anything to drink and said he was going home.
His breath smelled of alcohol. He was unable to complete field sobriety tests. A call was placed to tow his car, and he was arrested and taken to headquarters. There, he refused to submit breath samples and frequently yelled curses at the police.
On being served summonses—driving while under the influence, refusal to submit to a breath test, refusal to submit to a chemical test, and abandoned vehicle—he made suicidal statements, prompting police to have him transported by ambulance to New Bridge Medical Center.
His court date is Feb. 20.
Failure to yield to pedestrian; driver faces drug charges
Police stopped a produce company box truck the afternoon of Jan. 11 on Park Avenue after the driver failed to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk just west of the train tracks on Park Avenue.
At the van, police smelled the strong odor of marijuana emanating from within.
The driver wound up with summonses for possession of marijuana under 50 grams, possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to yield to pedestrian, and possession of controlled dangerous substances in a motor vehicle.