Drunk Woman Plays Dumb After Fleeing Hit-and-Run Crash in Lower Township, NJ

Around 3:19 PM on February 19, 2024, Patrolman Steven Gindville with the Lower Township Police Department responded to the Villas Fishing Club located at 301 Pennsylvania Avenue on a report of a hit-and-run crash. Surveillance footage showed that around 2:51 PM, a woman got into a red 2008 Ford F-150 and backed into a parked 2013 Nissan Altima before ignoring a plea to stop and fleeing the scene of the crash. As Patrolman Gindville was speaking with someone in the parking lot who witnessed the crash, he was advised that the driver of the pickup truck was headed back to the scene.

Patrolman Gindville spoke with the owner of the parked Nissan and took down her information before Corporal Matthew Gamble arrived on scene around 3:24 PM. Corporal Gamble advised him that the suspect was inside the club, so he walked inside and made contact with her. She was identified as Alexandra, and he escorted her outside the club so he could speak with her in the parking lot.

Alexandra initially lied and told him that her partner drove the pickup truck before they headed home. Corporal Gamble raised the possibility of this becoming a criminal matter and Alexandra then realized that the surveillance footage would reveal she was lying. She then changed her story and admitted to driving the pickup truck. Alexandra was asked if she had been drinking, and she admitted to consuming alcohol before operating the motor vehicle. Based on their suspicion of impairment, Alexandra was asked to perform field sobriety exercises and she agreed to do so.

Patrolman Gindville started with the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, Alexandra did not touch heel-to-toe on each step and Corporal Gamble terminated the test early out of concern for her safety. The final exercise they attempted was the One Leg Stand test, but it also had to be terminated early out of safety concerns.

Based on the motor vehicle crash, the surveillance footage showing that she was driving the pickup truck, her admission to consuming alcohol, and her inability to satisfactorily complete the field sobriety exercises, Alexandra was placed under arrest for driving under the influence. After she was placed under arrest and placed in the patrol car, officers located the pickup truck in the driveway of a residence in Cape May and impounded the vehicle for a 12-hour hold under John’s Law. Patrolman Gindville transported Alexandra to the Lower Township Police Department for further processing.

At the station, Alexandra agreed to submit breath samples for testing. After the officers were finished with processing Alexandra, she was released to a sober adult pending her court appearance after she signed the Potential Liability Warning form on Alexandra’ behalf. She was issued the following citations: Operating under the influence, reckless driving, failure to report accident, and leaving the scene of an accident involving damages to an unattended vehicle

Court records indicate that on May 7, 2024, the citation for operating under the influence was downgraded to reckless driving. As a result of her pleading guilty to reckless driving, her license was revoked for 30 days and she had to pay a total of $240 in fines. The other 3 citations were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

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