Old Bridge Man Arrested on Aggravated Assault and DWI Charges
A bizarre story in the Asbury Park press today regarding an arrest this past Friday. An Old Bridge man was arrested after backing his vehicle up into a police cruiser. According to the article, the officer was stationed at his traffic post when he observed a vehicle stopped in the middle of the roadway. When he went over the investigate, the car moved and pulled up on the wrong side of the road. The officer activated his lights and attempted to stop the vehicle but the vehicle fled. Then, in a bizarre twist, the car pulled over abruptly and then started backing up. The defendant backed the vehicle up right into the police cruiser. Fortunately, the officer was not injured.
The defendant was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, eluding, obstruction, and driving while intoxicated (DWI). The defendant was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick before being taken to the Somerset County Jail on $20,000 bail.
In this case,the defendant is suspected of driving under the influence of drugs rather than alcohol. Thus, the State retained a drug recognition expert (known as a "DRE") to examine the defendant. This "DRE" is trained in recognizing whether a driver is under the influence of drugs. This is necessary, of course, because the breathalyzer readings will come back .00% since there is no alcohol in the defendant's system. However, the State may still be able to prove a DWI based on the defendant being under the influence of drugs.
