JERSEY CITY — New Jersey State Sen. Sandra Cunningham faces DWI charges after she sideswiped two parked cars Thursday morning, Jersey City police confirmed Friday.
Cunningham, a Hudson County Democrat and deputy majority leader in the state senate, was driving westbound on Culver Avenue in Jersey City Thursday at around 9:30 a.m. when she sideswiped a 2015 Ford Focus and a 2013 Nissan Altima, both of which were legally parked and unoccupied at the time. She was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated. She told police she was about to make a turn but hit a snowbank, according to a police report.
The document says she was found to be in violation of the state’s DWI law and arrested. But it is unclear how officers determined she was intoxicated and whether she has yet been formally charged.
Her vehicle, a 2013 Infiniti X3, was eventually impounded.
The Star-Ledger reported that in 2006, Cunningham pled guilty to operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol and paid a $708 fine after she was ticketed in November 2005 with a DWI with a blood alcohol reading of .18, according to public records. They also reported that former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, a friend, picked up Cunningham from the scene of the accident.
There have been no reports of any injuries resulting from the crash.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey Senate Democrats declined comment on Cunningham’s status Friday afternoon.
Cunningham has served in the state senate since 2007, serving District 31 which accounts for much of Hudson County.
