Crime & Safety

Drunk Driver Asleep in Head-On Crash, Cops Say

East Hanover woman faces charges in connection with a two-car accident that injured four.

A 33-year-old East Hanover woman was charged with assault by auto and DWI after she allegedly struck another vehicle head-on on Ridgedale Avenue in the the township on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The woman, Gigi Vadakkedam, and three people in the other vehicle were taken to Morristown Medical Center with injuries, East Hanover Police Sgt. James Snow said. None of the injuries was reported to be life-threatening.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 26-year-old Jersey City man, was treated and released the same day, and Vadakkedam was listed in fair condition on Friday, according to a hospital spokesperson. Information about the conditions of the two other men, Paterson residents, ages 44 and 62, and whether they still were being treated at the hospital was not immediately available.

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Police said Vadakkedam was driving southbound on Ridgedale Avenue by the former East Hanover Airport when she allegedly struck the other vehicle head-on at a bend. Police said she was "apparently asleep" at the time of the crash, and afterward was unaware of her location and did not recall being in a crash. Blood was drawn for evidence, Snow said.

Vadakkedam was released on her own recognizance by Municipal Court Judge William Rush as she was being held in the hospital for extended treatment, Snow said.

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Both vehicles were towed from the scene. Police said the East Hanover Fire Department and East Hanover and Roseland first aid squads assisted at the scene. The case will be referred to Superior Court because Vadakkedam is charged with indictable offenses.


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