A 53-year-old Jersey City NJ man driving in Hasbrouck Heights NJ with two (2) young children in his car allegedly had a blood alcohol level nearly three (3) times the legal limit.

A Hasbrouck Heights police officer stopped Israel Perez after dispatchers received a call about a car weaving in and out of lanes in the area of Terrace Avenue and Passaic Avenue.

Also in Mr. Perez’s car were three passengers: a woman and two (2) five-year-old children. Police said that one (1) of the children belonged to Mr. Perez, while the other child belonged to the woman in the car.

The officer allegedly smelled alcohol on Mr. Perez’s breath. The officer administered field sobriety tests, which Mr. Perez allegedly failed. A breath test later showed that Mr. Perez’s blood alcohol level was .23, almost three (3) times the legal limit of .08.

Mr. Perez has been charged with drunk driving (DWI), DWI with minors present, careless driving, and endangering the welfare of a child.

The penalties for DWI in New Jersey are set forth in N.J.S.A. 39:4-50. If Mr. Perez is convicted of first offense DWI, he could be sentenced to up to 30 days in jail. Additionally, he could also lose his driver’s license for as long as one (1) year.

For more information, check out the NJ.com article entitled “Hasbrouck Heights PD: Driver with Two Kids in Car Had BAC Three Times Legal Limit.“