March 19 (UPI) -- The mayor of Lumberton Township, N.J., is charged with DUI, reckless driving, driving with an expired license and child endangerment for allegedly driving drunk on St. Patrick's Day.
A witness recorded video of a driver nearly striking a utility pole while swerving on Monday afternoon and reported it to local police, along with the license plate number on the 2019 BMW.
Police officers located the car at Mayor Gina LaPlaca's home early Monday evening, and she admitted to drinking alcohol prior to picking up her 2-year-old son from daycare on Monday afternoon, the New York Daily News reported.
Police found an open container of alcohol and an open container of cannabis inside the vehicle, and LaPlaca was removing her son from the vehicle when police arrived at her home.
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LaPlaca, 45, has an arraignment hearing scheduled April 15 for the seven tickets and offenses for which she was cited.
LaPlaca's husband, Jason Carty, called her a "loving and caring mother" and asked people to show compassion and respect the family's privacy in a Facebook post made on Tuesday.
"Millions of Americans struggle with addiction and never get help," Carty said. "Gina LaPlaca is someone who has struggled and is now getting the help she needs."
He said the incident "should not erase all the things she has accomplished for the community" but did not cite examples of those accomplishments.
Lumberton Township is located about 25 miles east of Philadelphia and had a population of 12,886 on July 1, 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
LaPlaca won election to the Lumberton Township Committee in 2020, which appointed her to a one-year term as mayor in 2021.
She won re-election the next three years, is a graduate of Fordham Law School and served as legal counsel for three years in the New Jersey General Assembly Majority Office.
