A Washington Township NJ police officer was arrested in Pennsylvania and accused of causing a drunk driving accident.
The suspect is a 45-year-old resident of Great Meadows and works for the Washington Township Police Department. According to law enforcement, he was intoxicated and operating a Nissan Armada SUV on a roadway in Hazleton PA when he lost control of the vehicle and smashed into several other cars.
Officers from several Pennsylvania police departments were dispatched to the area of the crash after receiving multiple reports of a driver swerving on the roadway.
When Hazleton PA police officers got to the scene, they saw the aftermath of the collisions: the suspect had reportedly slammed into two cars on the road and several other vehicles that were parked to the side of the roadway.
Pennsylvania State police officers and Hazleton PA cops chased down the suspect and blocked his vehicle at the intersection of 15th Street and Locust Street in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
According to authorities, the suspect’s SUV had visible damage to the front-end. Additionally, the vehicle airbag had reportedly been deployed when police stopped the car.
The suspect was placed under arrest and charged with multiple traffic violations, including Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and reckless driving.
After being arrested and charged, the suspect was detained at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania.
It is unclear at this time whether the suspect will be disciplined by the Washington Township Police Department. The chief of police for the Washington Township Police Department has already issued a statement calling the incident “unfortunate” and noting that Washington Township NJ investigators are currently “gathering information concerning the incident.”
While the investigation remains ongoing, the suspect has been suspended without pay from his job as a Washington Township NJ police officer.
To learn more about this case, see the NJ.com article, “N.J. Cop Charged with DUI, Resisting Arrest in Pennsylvania.”
