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Around 10:49 PM on July 22, 2024, officers with the Little Silver Police Department were dispatched to the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving a white 2017 Mercedes GLE that had struck a pole on Mitchell Place near Oakes Road. Sergeant Stephen Scherer with the Little Silver Police Department arrived on scene around 10:51 PM. He observed that the Mercedes had sustained severe front-end damages and there was airbag deployment inside the vehicle. He made contact with the residents who lived near the crash scene, and they informed him that the driver of the vehicle had fled the scene.

Patrolman Andrew White was patrolling the surrounding streets looking for the suspect, and he eventually located the suspect in front of a residence in Rumson Road. Sergeant Scherer also headed over as Patrolman White made contact with the suspect. The woman was identified as Melissa, and she told the officers that she was going through a divorce and that she had been with her friend earlier that evening. She denied consuming any alcohol after the crash, but admitted to consuming alcohol earlier that evening. Based on their suspicion of impairment, Melissa was asked to perform field sobriety exercises.

Sergeant Scherer started with the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn Test, and it was administered by Patrolman White. During the Walk and Turn test, Melissa failed to touch heel-to-toe on each step and turned improperly. The final exercise was the One Leg Stand test, and Melissa failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion and put her foot down before the test was complete.

Based on the motor vehicle accident, her admission to operating the motor vehicle, her admission to consuming alcohol earlier, and her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, Melissa was placed under arrest. After she was placed under arrest, her vehicle was impounded for a 12-hour hold according to John’s Law. Patrolman White transported Melissa to the Little Silver Police Department for further processing. At the station, she was read the Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators and she agreed to submit breath samples. Her Alcotest results indicated a BAC of 0.16%, which was double the legal limit of 0.08%.

After they were finished processing Melissa, she was released to a sober adult pending her court appearance after he signed the Potential Liability Warning on Melissa’s behalf. Patrolman White issued Melissa the following citations: Operating under the influence, careless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to report accident
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