ClOSTER, N.J.—On Aug. 31 at 3:52 a.m., Sgt. Vincent Sarubbi was traveling northbound on Herbert Avenue when he observed a vehicle off to the side of the road with its hazard lights activated.
Sarubbi exited his patrol car and approached the driver side door, when he noticed that the vehicle was occupied by a driver, who was sleeping. The driver’s eyes were closed and his head was titled to the right.
Sarubbi requested backup and began knocking on the door to wake up the driver. After several hard knocks, the driver woke up, confused and unaware what to do. He turned off the car and proceed to drop his keys out of his hands. The driver opened the door and attempted to exit but was pulled back as his seatbelt was still attached.
Patrolman Brian Kelly arrived at the scene. The driver unfastened his seat belt and exited the vehicle. There was garbage everywhere in the car and the center console was open; it appeared the door was covered in dried vomit.
The driver walked slowly to the back of his vehicle and stated that he was an Uber driver, and that he had passed out after working for two days straight in order to catch up on bills. He couldn’t remember where he’d dropped his last passenger, but said he had picked up a female in Hoboken.
The man’s eyes were watery and droopy and his speech was slurred. Asked for his identification, he stated it was in the center console, and proceeded to attempt to retrieve it. Sarubbi stopped him for officer safety and asked for permission to retrieve the license himself, which he received. In the center console in plain view was a small plastic bag with a white powdery substance. After asking him several times, the man admitted it was cocaine.
His license showed he was from Clifton. He was placed under arrest and transported to headquarters.
A subsequent search of his vehicle also yielded six glassine folds of heroin, two vials of anabolic steroids, and 38 Haloperido pills.
At headquarters, officers were preparing to initiate a series of standardized field sobriety tests, but the driver began to exhibit even more signs of impairment. Specifically, he passed out mid-conversation several times, his speech became slurred to the point of being incoherent and he passed out while standing for mug shots. He also remained clueless about the details leading up to his encounter with officers.
The driver failed a series of sobriety tests, described in detail in the officer’s report. His blood alcohol content was determined to be 0. The man signed a consent for a urine sample and supplied the same.
He was issued summonses for possession of controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving. He was also charged with possession of heroin, possession of cocaine, possession of controlled dangerous substance, and possession of a prescription legend drug without prescription.
A female party arrived at headquarters and took liability for the man, who was released at that time.
