A man was charged with driving while intoxicated after falling asleep with his car in drive near the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, police said.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Robert Tume-Ponce, 48, of East Orange, was charged with DWI, driving with an open alcoholic beverage and delaying traffic/creating a risk of accident, according to Port Authority police spokesman Joe Pentangelo.
Yesterday around 2:20 a.m., Port Authority Police Officer Christopher Hooper, who was in a marked PAPD vehicle traveling from the World Trade Center to Jersey City, was exiting the Holland Tunnel when he encountered a traffic jam at Manila and 14th Street, officials said.
The officer investigated and found the suspect asleep at the wheel of a 2003 Ford Explorer with NJ plates in an active traffic lane. The keys were in the ignition, the motor running and the car was in gear, authorities said.
The driver had the smell of alcohol on his breath and there was an open bottle of wine on the floor of the passenger side of the car. The suspect failed a field sobriety test and was also given a breathalyzer test – which indicated he was over twice the legal limit, police said.
As a result, Tume-Ponce was arrested and his car was impounded, officials said.
