Mom Arrested for DWI in Front of School at OVER 4 TIMES LEGAL LIMIT (0.33%)

On May 9, 2024 around 3:47 PM, Officers Robert Klecha and Glenn Moran with the Montvale Police Department responded to Memorial Elementary School on a report of a possibly intoxicated parent attempting to pick up her son. Officer Klecha arrived at 3:53 PM and made contact with the Principal of the school. The Principal informed him that he observed a woman inside a damaged 2007 Pontiac who appeared to be impaired. Instead of releasing the child to his mother, school officials decided to contact the Montvale Police. The officers were escorted inside by the Principal and they made contact with the parent, who was identified as 28-year-old Mayowa.

Mayowa asked the officers why they were there, and she was informed that some individuals had expressed concerns about her. They asked her if they could evaluate whether she was safe to drive, and she agreed to that. She was escorted outside the school building to an area away from the children, and Officer Klecha asked her to perform field sobriety exercises.

Officer Klecha started with the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Officer Klecha observed the lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees. She also presented vertical nystagmus. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, Mayowa did not touch heel-to-toe on each step, turned improperly, and took an incorrect number of steps. The final exercise was the One Leg Stand test, and she failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion while using her arms for balance.

Based on the concerns expressed by school officials, the odor of alcohol, the open containers in her vehicle, and her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, she was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated. Officer Klecha conducted a search of her vehicle incident to arrest and he located approximately 40 airplane bottles of vodka, 1 bottle of EJ rum, 1 tall white can of beer, and 1 green bottle of beer, and they were all open containers. Several containers still had alcohol inside them.

Mayowa was transported to the Montvale Police Department for further processing. At the Montvale Police Department, Officer Klecha read her the Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators, and she eventually agreed to submit breath samples for testing. Officer Daniel Wynohradnyk operated the machine, and her Alcotest results indicated a BAC of 0.33%, which was more than four times the legal limit of 0.08%.

After she was processed, Mayowa was released to her father pending her court appearance in the Pascack Joint Municipal Court on May 15, 2024 after he signed the Potential Liability Warning form on her behalf. The Division of Child Protection and Permanency was notified of this incident at 9:28 PM, and they informed the officer that they would be sending an officer over to speak with her as well as the child’s grandfather later that evening. Officer Klecha issued her the following summonses: Operating under the influence, careless driving, open container, and consuming an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle

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