Narcan Used 3 Times To Save Woman Overdosing In DWI Checkpoint

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ — A female driver was saved from overdosing by police officers and EMS crews during a DWI checkpoint last Friday night, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago and Allenhurst Police Chief Michael Schneider, who is also the coordinator of the Monmouth County DWI Task Force.

“I think this incident shows just how important these checkpoints are,” said Schneider. “It’s extremely likely that pulling into this checkpoint saved this woman’s life. I think this puts an exclamation point on just how important these checkpoints are in keeping our roads safe.”

This happened Friday night, May 31, in the Asbury Park circle (intersection of Rts. 35/66) in Ocean Township. That is where the DWI checkpoint was being held.

The woman had been pulled over in her car and she was speaking with a Monmouth County Sheriff’s Officer when she suddenly became disoriented. Shortly thereafter, she became unconscious behind the wheel of her car, which was still in gear.

Additional officers came over to assist and were able to get the vehicle into park and pull the woman, now unconscious, from inside the car.

Officers administered three separate Narcan deployments to the woman before she eventually started to show signs of regaining consciousness.

She was transported by the Wanamassa First Aid Squad to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where she was treated and released.

Summonses for the woman are pending as police continue to investigate. The county prosecutor did not say what drugs she had ingested, but did say this was a drug overdose.

The checkpoint was shut down for approximately 30 minutes last Friday while this happened. In total, 686 cars were checked at that checkpoint Friday evening, with nine summonses issued and one arrest.

The Monmouth prosecutor praised the DWI checkpoint.

“This weekend’s DWI check acted as a safety net for not only this driver, but other residents and motorists who may have been in the vicinity at the time,” said Prosecutor Santiago. “I shudder to think of what may have happened if this driver wasn’t stopped at this checkpoint and continued driving down the road. I’d like to thank our officers and medical personnel, whose quick actions saved a life and prevented what could have been a much worse outcome for everyone involved.”

There will be another DWI checkpoint in Monmouth County this Saturday night, June 7: DWI Checkpoint Saturday Night In Monmouth County