N.J. trooper charged with DWI accused of paying woman not to call 911

A New Jersey state trooper accused of drunk driving while on duty crashed into another car at a rest stop Oct. 26. New information released Tuesday by NJ Advance Media shows the trooper’s blood-alcohol level was 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit.

Under an Open Public Records Act request, NJ Advance Media was granted access to police records that detailed Sgt. 1st Class Michael Roadside attempted to pay the driver of the vehicle he hit, Kimberly Wilson, $1,000 to keep quiet.

In her account, Ms. Wilson also explained that when Sergeant Roadside got out of the car, she “asked him if he was a police officer because he was a mess.” She asked where his uniform and weapon were, “at which point he opened his shirt, and a Bud Light cap and a loaded magazine fell to the ground. I yelled at him to get in his car right away because he was scaring me."

Wilson then called 911 and Sgt. Matthew J. Durak responded to the scene. In Sergeant Durak’s report he noted that he "immediately noticed a very strong smell of an alcoholic beverage," that Roadside was "only partly dressed in uniform," his speech was slurred, and his shirt "was unbuttoned and appeared to have vomit on it."

Upon searching Roadside’s car, police found open beer containers. Roadside admitted to having consumed nine beers within a span of two and a half hours. In his report Durak wrote that upon telling Roadside the results of the breathalyzer test, Roadside said, "I've been way more drunk than that."

Roadside was charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI), careless driving, and possessing an open container of alcohol in a vehicle. As the charges were not criminal, Roadside was released but he remains suspended without pay.

This report contains material from the Associate Press.