Wrong-Way Tesla Driver Arrested for DWI in Hoboken

On April 13, 2024 around 3:05 AM, Officer Nicholas Protopapadakis with the Hoboken Police Department was working an outside employment job and he observed a white 2022 Tesla drive westbound on 4th Street and turn north on Garden Street (a southbound one-way street). When officers began to walk over, they saw her K-turn in the middle of the street and strike the curb several times. The driver was eventually stopped on 4th Street near Park Avenue. As Officer Protopapadakis approached the vehicle, he made contact with the 23-year-old driver and her passenger.

The officer asked for her license and Officers Andrias Bonilla and Josh Campoverde arrived on scene to assist shortly afterwards. When the driver was asked where she was coming from, she told the officer that she was coming from Lefkes in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. When she was asked if she lived in Hoboken, she informed the officer that her passenger lived in Hoboken, and she was driving her home. As he was interacting with the driver, he detected the odor of alcohol and asked her if she had consumed any alcohol. She denied having consumed alcohol, but they noticed several open containers inside the vehicle.

Based on their suspicion of impairment, the driver was asked to exit the vehicle and perform field sobriety exerciss. Officer Bonilla administered the field sobriety exercises, and he started with the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Officer Bonilla observed the lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees. He did not observe vertical nystagmus. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, she failed to follow instruction and took 30 steps forward, 30 steps back, while failing to touch heel-to-toe on each step. The final exercise was the One Leg Stand test, and she displayed a lack of balance and failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion.

Based on her erratic driving, the odor of alcohol, the open containers of alcohol inside the vehicle, and her inability to perform the field sobriety exercises, she was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated. She was transported to the Hoboken Police Department for further processing. After she was processed, she was released to a sober adult pending her court appearance after he signed the Potential Liability Warning form on her behalf. Officer Bonilla issued her the following summonses: Operating under the influence, reckless driving, wrong way on one-way street, and open container

------------------------------------------

Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and consider supporting this channel (email us for more information). Donations will be used to acquire more public footage related to law enforcement activities.

Our content is educational and in compliance with YouTube's Fair Use Policy because we edit several long clips into a concise story. This is similar to other law enforcement channels on YouTube. All videos and case documents were obtained pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (P.L. 2001, c. 404). Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has previously affirmed in Salzano v. North Jersey Media Group, 993 A.2d 778 (2010) that “The fair-report privilege reflects the judgment that the need, in a self-governing society, for free-flowing information about matters of public interest outweighs concerns over the uncompensated injury to a person's reputation.” This video advances a compelling public interest. The summary of events was based on records that are “open to public view through open access to public records” as defined in the Salzano case. In Ramos v. Flowers, 429 N.J. Super. 13, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court has also affirmed the right to film law enforcement interactions.