Monmouth County Woman Arrested After Allegedly Driving Drunk with Daughter in Car
A Monmouth County, NJ woman was recently arrested after she allegedly drove while intoxicated with her four-year-old daughter in the car and crashed into another vehicle. According to Middletown police, the mother rear-ended another vehicle on Route 35 and then fled the scene before pulling into the Holmdel Town Center parking lot. After police responded, an officer reportedly noticed that the mother was slurring her speech “to the point where she was almost unintelligible.” The mother then allegedly failed field sobriety tests. She was subsequently arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI), driving while intoxicated with a minor as a passenger, endangering the welfare of a child, being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), leaving the scene of a car accident, and careless driving. Fortunately, the four-year-old passenger was not injured in the accident. She was later released to the custody of her father.
In addition to being charged with traffic and criminal offenses, the mother will also likely be subject to an investigation by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (“DCP&P”), formerly known as the Division of Youth and Family Services (“DYFS”). In addition to the disorderly persons offense of driving while intoxicated with a minor passenger and the child endangerment charge, there likely will be a separate and independent investigation by DCP&P that will could result in a safety protection plan that prohibits any unsupervised contact between the mother and the child. Moreover, the Division will also probably file a Verified Complaint for Care and Supervision with Restraints to ensure that the mother does not place her child at any future risk of harm.
The bottom line when it comes to drinking and driving with a minor passenger is that there will be extensive involvement of child protective services to ensure that the parent is addressing the substance abuse issues that led to the incident in the first place and to ensure that the parent is taking the matter seriously so as to no longer pose a risk to the child’s wellbeing. DCP&P’s involvement often lasts for quite a while, sometimes for more than an entire year. That’s why it is important to have an experienced DYFS defense attorney to help guide the parent through the process and work toward getting the case closed as soon as possible.
If you were accused of driving while intoxicated with a child passenger and child protective services is now involved with your family, or if DCP&P is involved with your family for any other reason, the Tormey Law Firm can help. In fact, our team of New Jersey child abuse and neglect defense attorneys includes a former Deputy Attorney General who represented DCP&P and who is available to fight for you, too. Call us today.
