PARSIPPANY — In a recent incident on Saturday, December 30 at 5:32 p.m. at Tivoli Gardens on Parsippany Boulevard, Bipin Patel, found himself in legal trouble after colliding with a parked vehicle. The details of the incident unfolded as follows:
Ms. Elizabeth Foster, the owner of the parked vehicle, a blue 2013 GMC Sierra, reported the crash. She claimed that Mr. Patel, who was driving a 2006 Black Honda CRV, collided with her truck. Upon police arrival, Patrolman Sean Abrusci observed the Honda parked diagonally across two parking spots.
Ms. Foster mentioned smelling alcohol on Mr. Patel’s breath and noted that he had attempted to back away from the accident multiple times before parking diagonally. This led the officer to approach Mr. Patel, who was still seated in his vehicle and detect the strong scent of alcohol.
During the subsequent conversation, Mr. Patel initially stated that a flat tire caused the accident but later admitted to using his cellphone’s GPS while driving. When questioned about his destination, he mentioned making a delivery and then said he was returning from work.
The officer noticed bloodshot and watery eyes and asked Mr. Patel to turn off the vehicle and step out. Mr. Patel’s impaired ability to stand, marked by swaying and staggering, led the officer to request backup.
Sergeant Edward Conklin arrived at the scene, and Patrolman Abrusci proceeded to conduct standard field sobriety tests, which Mr. Patel failed. Frustrated, Mr. Patel eventually confessed to being intoxicated.
Following his admission, Mr. Patel was transported to Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Headquarters, where he was read his Miranda rights. During questioning, he admitted to buying and consuming a bottle of Bacardi from a local liquor store in the parking lot before driving.
An ALCOTEST (breath alcohol test) revealed Mr. Patel had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .24%, well above the legal limit of 0.08% in New Jersey.
As a result of the incident, Mr. Patel faces several charges, including Operating Under the Influence (39:4-50), Reckless Driving (39:4-96), Use of a hand-held wireless telephone (39:4-97.3), and Traffic on marked lanes (39:4-88).
A witness also reported seeing Mr. Patel swerving in the northbound lane of Parsippany Boulevard.
Mr. Patel was released to a friend who read and signed the “John’s Law.”
He is scheduled to appear at Parsippany Municipal Court to address the charges filed against him.
Editors Note: A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, the individual(s) are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
