On March 28, 2024 around 5:03 PM, Officer Eric Loffredo with the Westfield Police Department responded to the area of West South Avenue and West Broad Street on a report of a female slumped over the wheel of a silver sedan. As he arrived on scene, he observed that the driver, later identified as Meghan, was sleeping inside a 2019 Nissan Sentra. He knocked on the passenger side window and awakened the driver. As he approached the driver side, Meghan opened the door and told the officer that she was going to get her eyelashes done. Officer Loffredo detected the odor of alcohol, but Meghan told the officer that she had not been drinking.

As he was speaking with her, Officer Anthony Perconte arrived on scene to assist. Officer Loffredo asked Meghan for her license, and Officer Perconte asked her to exit the vehicle. He escorted Meghan to the sidewalk and she once again denied consuming alcohol. Officer Loffredo asked her whether she had previously been arrested for DWI, and she acknowledged her previous arrest from August 27, 2023. Court records indicate she had also been arrested for another DWI on September 19, 2018.

Based on his suspicion of impairment, Officer Loffredo asked Meghan to perform field sobriety exercises. He started with the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, Meghan began the test before she was instructed to do so and did not touch heel-to-toe on each step. The final exercise was the One Leg Stand test, and Meghan failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion while displaying a lack of balance.

Based on her having fallen asleep in her car, the odor of alcohol, and her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, Meghan was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated. A search of her vehicle yielded open containers inside the vehicle. Her vehicle was impounded by C&M Towing for a mandatory 12-hour hold under John’s Law.

Officer Loffredo transported Meghan to the Westfield Police Department for further processing. At the police station, Meghan was read the Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators and agreed to submit breath samples for testing. Her Alcotest results indicated a BAC of 0.25%, which was more than triple the legal limit of 0.08%. As she was being processed, first responders with the Westfield Rescue Squad arrived to evaluate her, and it was determined that she would be transported to Overlook Medical Center for further medical treatment.

After she was treated and discharged, Meghan was transported back to the Westfield Police Department and agreed to let the officers contact her mother so she could take responsibility for her. Around 12:46 AM, Meghan was released to her mother pending her court appearance after she signed the Potential Liability Warning form on Meghan’s behalf. Officer Loffredo issued her the following summonses: Operating under the influence, reckless driving, delaying traffic, and open container of alcohol
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