LOWER TOWNSHIP
A veteran township police officer was charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident early Saturday after he allegedly sideswiped an NJ Transit bus.
Police were called to an accident in Town Bank around 1:40 a.m. A driver for NJ Transit said the bus was traveling west on Town Bank Road near Bayshore Road when an oncoming gray pickup truck swerved into the westbound lane and sideswiped the bus.
The truck then drove away, police said. Neither the two passengers aboard nor the bus driver were injured. The bus sustained minor damage and did not have to be towed.
Officers began to search the area for a truck with front-end damage. About four hours later, police Sgt. John Chew saw scrape marks gouged in the pavement on Crawford Road that led to a home. Parked there was a gray pickup truck with heavy front-end damage.
The truck was registered to Lower Township Police Officer Douglas Whitten, 44. Investigators spoke to Whitten and took him to the police station where an alcohol breath test was administered.
Police charged Whitten with drunk driving, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident. The department immediately suspended Whitten, a 14-year veteran with Lower Township. The department also notified the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office about the arrest of a police officer.
In a statement, Police Chief Ed Donohue said he was disappointed with the officer, adding that Whitten had served Lower Township well for 14 years.
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http://www.nbc40.net/view_story.php?id=8460
1 comment:
4 hours later he was found at a "home". glad they didnt mention it was another officers' home.
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