Electric Bike Rider Gets a DWI after Hitting a Pole

On February 26, 2022 aound 4:41 PM, Patrolman Matthew Niebling with the Howell Township Police Department responded to a report of a bicyclist who had fallen into the roadway on Driftway Road. Patrolmen Matthew Cuzzo and Daniel Bozza located a 35-year-old female subject, later identified as Nicole. They found a black and green electric bicycle next to her and noticed that she had been wearing a helmet. It was apparent that she had fallen after striking the JCP&L pole, although the pole had not sustained any structural damages.

As the officers prepared to administer assistance to Nicole, they detected the odor of alcohol and located a “shooter” bottle of vodka in her jacket pocket. First responders arrived on scene shortly afterwards and placed her into an ambulance. Patrolman Kevin Kubiel asked Nicole if she would consent to a blood draw, but she refused. As a result, he contacted the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to request a warrant, and a warrant for her blood draw was granted by Judge Scott Basin.

A resident of a nearby property where the accident occurred was able to show officers surveillance footage of the incident. A review of the surveillance footage shows Nicole traveling eastbound in Driftway Road, crossing the center line, and striking the JCP&L utility pole. As Nicole was placed in the ambulance, her sister arrived on scene and provided the officers with some additional information. The electric bicycle was released to Nicole’s sister at the scene after she completed the Potential Liability Warning form on her behalf.

After Nicole was discharged from the hospital and sent home, an officer with the Howell Township Police Department later came to her residence to issue her 3 summonses. Nicole was issued the following summonses: Operating under the influence, reckless driving, failure to observe traffic signal, and motorized bicycles-operation under influence

Court records indicate that despite the open container of alcohol on her person, all 3 summonses were dismissed in the Howell Township Municipal Court on June 3, 2022.

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