Drunk Driver Hurt Passenger, Uprooted 2 Trees: Hackettstown PD

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ — A Hackettstown drunk driver seriously injured his passenger and knocked over two trees during a January incident, Hackettstown police said.

Police say Kevin Jennings, 31, of Mansfield, was drunk at the time of the crash on Jan. 30. According to police, an officer was stopped at a stop sign around 10:30 a.m. when they saw Jennings drive into a tree and uproot it. Jennings kept driving, and hit a stop sign and uprooted a second tree, police said.

The passenger, Valadean Smith, 53, also from Mansfield, was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center with serious, non-life threatening injuries. Jennings sustained ahead injury but refused medical treatment.

Jennings was charged with drunk driving, reckless driving, and failure to maintain lane or wear a seat belt on Jan. 30. On March 5, Jennings was charged with assault by auto. He was released with an upcoming court date.