The incident occurred on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at 12:04 a.m., when Sgt. Tyler Mullooly observed a Honda minivan cross the center line near Famous Footwear, narrowly missing his patrol vehicle, police said.
Sgt. Mullooly initiated a traffic stop and observed the driver and passenger switching seats as he approached the vehicle. The driver, identified as 46-year-old Raghunath Angeveettil, was found seated in the passenger seat, with five juveniles in the rear of the vehicle, officials said.
Officer David Giraldo arrived to assist and noted that Angeveettil smelled of alcohol and appeared impaired. After field sobriety testing, Angeveettil was arrested and transported to police headquarters.
He was charged with child neglect/abuse, DWI, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, and careless driving. Angeveettil was released to a sober driver pending a court hearing.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Lyndhurst and receive free news updates.