Valentine’s Day Crash Injures Pedestrian
Florida might be the only state in the Union with a native population of crocodiles, and Alaska might be the only one that issues every long-time resident of the state a check for his or her share of revenues from Alaska’s petroleum resources, but New Jersey is the only place where you can drive drunk and get away with it. Of course, this is only true if we define getting away with it as avoiding criminal charges. Even though drunk driving cases that do not result in accidents go through traffic court instead of criminal court, the traffic court still heaps plenty of civil penalties on you, to where you are spending as much time and money putting your DWI behind you as you would have done if you had gotten a DWI in another state and the criminal court had handed down a probation sentence and criminal fines. If you cause an accident while you are driving under the influence of alcohol, though, criminal penalties apply. Defendants in criminal cases are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and many criminal charges do not result in convictions. Meanwhile, people who get injured by drunk drivers have the right to file personal injury lawsuits in civil court, regardless of whether the drunk driver gets a conviction. If you got injured in a drunk driving accident, but the drunk driver didn’t get convicted or the criminal case is still pending, contact a South Jersey auto accident lawyer.
Driver Faces Charges for DWI Assault By Vehicle
In March 2026, a 2005 Nissan Sentra struck a pedestrian who was walking on Cedar Lane near Teaneck Cinemas. The pedestrian, a Teaneck resident who is 53 years old, sustained serious injuries in the accident. An ambulance transported him to the hospital, and he remained hospitalized at the time that the Patch news website reported on the incident. News reports did not give any information about the nature of his injuries.
The driver of the Sentra, a 55-year-old man, remained at the scene of the accident until first responders arrived, as the law requires. The police officers who responded to the accident noted that the driver seemed to be under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and taken to the Bergen County jail to await his first court appearance. He is facing criminal charges for assault by auto and DWI resulting in serious bodily injury, in addition to traffic offenses that do not count as criminal charges. The Patch news website did not say whether he has previous DWIs; this would affect his criminal case but not any legal actions that the injured pedestrian might bring.
Contact Monaco Law About Car Accidents
Contact Monaco Law PC in Marlton, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to discuss your car accident case. Joseph Monaco is a New Jersey and Pennsylvania wrongful death and personal injury lawyer serving Atlantic County, Bucks County, Burlington County, Cape May County, Camden County, Chester County, Cumberland County, Delaware County, Gloucester County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Philadelphia, Ocean County, Salem County, Susquehanna County and all of New Jersey.
Source:
patch.com/new-jersey/ridgewood/pedestrian-hospitalized-after-being-struck-drunk-driver-teaneck-prosecutor
