Drunk Woman Nearly Caused Accident, Cops Say

A Morris Plains woman was allegedly drunk when she drifted between lanes and nearly struck another vehicle on Route 10 Thursday, East Hanover Police said.

Rachelle Santos, 42, was charged with DWI and issued summonses for expired registration, reckless driving and failure to stay in lane. After processing, police said they collected breath samples from Santos. The samples showed her blood-alcohol content (BAC) was 0.12 percent, according to police.

Santos was released to a friend, police said. She also received summonses for expired registration, reckless dreiving and failure to stay in the lane.

Det. Andrew T. Underwood was driving westbound on Route 10 when he observed a white Land Rover drifting in and out of the right lane, nearly striking a box truck in the left lane, police said. He also saw the car make a lane change without using a turn signal, according to police.

Underwood checked on the car's registration, which expired in August, police said. While conducting a motor vehicle stop, Underwood detected the odor of an alcohol coming from inside the vehicle, police said. Also, Santos' eyes appeared bloodshot and watery, according to police.

Santos told Underwood she was coming from the Westminster Hotel in Livingston, where she had consumed two glasses of red wine, police said.

Underwood administered sobriety tests, which Santos failed, according to police. She was placed under arrest and transported to headquarters.