On May 25, 2023 around 11:11 PM, Sergeant Alex Parenta and Officers Timothy Barkho and Richard Giannetti with the North Haledon Police Department responded to the intersection of Saw Mill Road and Ruff Court on a report of a motor vehicle crash. They arrived on scene and observed a female sitting in the driver seat of a black 2008 Jeep Wrangler that had sustained front-end damages. It was later determined that the driver of the Jeep struck a black 2017 Toyota Rav4 while making a left turn from Saw Mill Road onto Ruff Court. The officers made contact with the driver of the Jeep, who was later identified as Christa McGillen. The officers immediately noticed that Christa was exhibiting indicators of impairment. Christa admitted to consuming alcohol earlier that evening before heading home. Based on the officers’ suspicion of impairment, Christa was asked to perform field sobriety exercises. Around this time, Christa began making excuses about how she could not perform the field sobriety exercises. Sergeant Parenta eventually decided to terminate the field sobriety exercises due to safety reasons. Based on her indicators of impairment, the odor of alcohol, and her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, Christa was placed under arrest for operating under the influence. Her vehicle was impounded by for a mandatory 12-hour hold under John’s Law. Christa was transported to the North Haledon Police Department for further processing. The Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators was read to her and she agreed to submit breath samples. Following a 20-minute observation, she submitted breath samples. Her Alcotest results indicated a BAC level of 0.26%, which was more than triple the legal limit of 0.08%. Once they finished processing her and generated her tickets, Christa was eventually released to a sober adult pending her court appearance after he signed the Potential Liability Warning on Christa’s behalf. Sergeant Parenta issued her the following citations: -Operating under the influence (39:4-50) -Reckless driving (39:4-97) Court records indicate that on March 4, 2024, Christa was found guilty of operating under the influence. The other citation for reckless driving was downgraded to careless driving (39:4-97). As a result of being found guilty, Christa had to use an ignition interlock device for 7 months, spend 12 hours at an intoxicated driver resource center, and pay a total of $930 in fines. On April 7, 2019, Christa had previously been issued citations for careless driving (39:4-97) and leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury (39:4-129A) in Hawthorne, New Jersey. The citation under 39:4-129A was eventually dismissed but she was found guilty under 29:4-97 and fined a total of $124 on July 11, 2019. ------------------------------------------ Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and consider supporting this channel (email us for more information). Our content is shared for educational and news gathering purposes. We are 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. 2024, c.16). 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.

Christa McGillen Christa McGillen DWI DUI OVI OWI DWI arrest arrested for DWI arrested for DUI DUI arrest North Haledon Hawthorne Haledon Wyckoff Passaic County Bergen County North Jersey North Haledon Police Department North Haledon Police Hawthorne Police mom arrested triple the limit drunken crash girl arrested woman arrested New Jersey NJ drunken driver alcoholic Jeep Wrangler Rav4