Off-Duty Millville Officer Faces Multiple Charges After Being Involved In A Crash

MILLVILLE – On 17th of March, 31-year-old Michael D. McLaughlin was charged with DWI, leaving the scene of an accident, and reckless driving after he was involved in an accident.

The location of the accident was Westwood Drive and Marlynn Terrace. The accident happened at around 10:58 p.m.

He was behind the wheel of a Dodge sport utility vehicle and no other information, including the condition of McLaughlin at the time of the accident, was given by the police.

He was suspended from his job with pay and was released from custody pending his court appearance.

Mayor Michael Santiago said about the officer, “I’m proud of the Millville Police Department for being very transparent. They did an outstanding job in this investigation. With the cooperation of the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, this is still an active investigation.”

Millville officer Sgt. Cindi Zadroga is investigating the accident case.

This was the second time McLaughlin got involved in an accident since he started working for the department. In 2013, he became the employee of the department.

He got involved in an accident for the first time back in 2014 as he was behind the wheel of another officer’s sports car when he lost control of it and ended up striking the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church on Carmel Road. He and the other person, who was also an officer, were thrown out of the vehicle. McLaughlin sustained a life-threatening back injury in the accident.

McLaughlin was given a plea agreement in his 1st accident case under which he admitted to reckless driving in return for the dismissal of the DWI charges and not wearing a seat belt.

News Source: https://www.thedailyjournal.com/