Drunken Man Stopped at McDonald's After Hit-and-Run Crash, Police Say

A Belvidere man was drunk when he crashed into a parked vehicle on Washington Street early Sunday morning and was caught after he was seen leaving McDonald's, Hackettstown Police said.

Hackettstown Police said Thomas Buwen, 25, was traveling east on Washington Street in a 2002 Chevy at approximately 2:50 a.m. when he hit a 2011 Dodge parked at the curb. 

Buwen then fled the scene and went to a nearby McDonald's restaurant on Mountain Avenue, police said. When Thomas was driving away from the restaurant, a witness saw the front-end damage to his vehicle and reported him to police.

Buwen was stopped on Route 182 near Route 46 and the officer detected the odor of alcohol on his breath, police said. Buwen was taken to police headquarters and charged with driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated in a school zone, reckless driving, failure to report a motor vehicle crash and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash. 

He was released pending a court appearance, police said.