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Around 11:25 PM on December 15, 2022, officers from the Pequannock Township Police Department were dispatched to the scene of an accident involving a vehicle that had struck a utility pole on Jacksonville Road. Patrolman Benjamin Kohle was the first to respond, and he confirmed that 24-year-old Lauren Burklow was the sole driver of the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan. He noticed that the airbags were deployed and that the vehicle appeared to be totaled. Lauren told Patrolman Kohle that she was coming from the Verona Inn, and she would later admit to consuming 3 drinks a few hours prior. She also told the officer that she hit the utility pole when she was distracted by looking at her phone and the touchscreen in her vehicle. Since she told the officers that her head had struck the airbags, officers called for an ambulance so that she could be evaluated by paramedics. Officers also notified the utility company, JCP&L, to respond to the scene and begin emergency repair work. After she was cleared by the paramedics and declined to be transported to the hospital, Patrolman Parigi began to administer field sobriety exercises to check for impairment. The first exercise was the recitation of the alphabet from “B” to “K” without singing it. Lauren was unable to follow these instructions, and she recited “C, D, E, F, G, A, K, L, M, N, O, P” before stopping. The second exercise was counting backwards from 52 to 36. While Lauren initially counted backwards in the correct manner, she continued to count until 28 before Patrolman Parigi stopped her from counting any further. The fourth exercise was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test, and it was administered by Patrolman Kohle. During this test, he observed a lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees in both eyes. There was also vertical nystagmus present, and he told the other officers that Lauren displayed 7 out of 7 indicators of impairment. The fifth exercise involved the Walk and Turn test, and that was administered by Patrolman Parigi. During this exercise, Lauren was unable to walk in a straight line and failed to touch heel-to-toe on multiple occasions. She eventually began walking backwards while swaying side to side. The sixth exercise involved the One Leg Stand test, and Lauren did not raise her foot in the proper fashion while using her arms for balance. She also failed to count aloud during this exercise. Based on the traffic accident resulting in property damage and her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, Officer Parigi placed Lauren under arrest for driving under the influence. She was transported to Lincoln Park Police Headquartrs, because the Alcotest machine in Pequannock was not functional. Once she was at the station, Patrolman Parigi read her the Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators and Lauren agreed to provide breath samples. Her Alcotest results showed a BAC of %, which is more than double the legal limit. After Lauren was processed, she was transported back to Pequannock Township Police HQ and eventually released to her mother with the following summonses: Operating under the influence, reckless driving, traffic on marked lanes, and use of hand-held wireless telephones Court records indicated that on March 13, 2023, Lauren pleaded guilty to operating under the influence and was fined a total of $890. Her license was revoked for 4 months until she installed an ignition interlock device, and the period of the ignition interlock device installation was 9 months. Lauren was also ordered to complete 12 hours at an intoxicated driver resource center. The other 3 citations for reckless driving, traffic on marked lanes, and use of hand-held wireless telephones were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and consider making a donation to support this channel on Venmo (Account name: drive-thru-tours). Donations will be used to acquire more public footage related to law enforcement activities. Our content is educational and 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, . 47:1A-1 et seq. (P.L. 2001, c. 404). Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.
