This story has been updated with information and screenshots from the police report that details the drunk driving arrest of Jersey City Ward B Councilman Khemraj “Chico” Ramchal.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Ramchal, 39, was arrested at 12:30 a.m. after his 2013 Ford Explorer hit another vehicle near the intersection of West Side and Communipaw Avenues, the police report says.
Sources told Hudson County View that he was driving home after a St. Patrick’s Day party at Casino in the Park.
According to the report, the car Ramchal hit then collided with another vehicle.
Ramchal’s vehicle had red and blue emergency lights activated on the vehicle at the time of the accident, the report says, and sources initially told Hudson County View that he was driving a city vehicle.
The councilman was administered a field sobriety test, which he failed, after an officer said he “immediately detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from the vehicle,” which he also smelled on Ramchal’s breath, authorities said.
Ramchal was placed under arrest at 1:25 a.m. and his blood alcohol content was revealed to be 0.15 via an Alcotest, police said.
Ramchal was elected to City Council in June 2013 and is considered an ally to both Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and District 2 Freeholder Bill O’Dea.
He did not return calls seeking comment.