PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Gina LaPlaca, the former mayor of Lumberton Township, New Jersey, has pleaded guilty to drunk driving and child endangerment charges.
She was charged last March with driving drunk after picking up her 2-year-old from day care. Her blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit.
In a statement, LaPlaca said what she did “was wrong. It was dangerous. It was inexcusable.”
“I drove while intoxicated with my child in the car — a choice that could have caused irreversible harm. That reality is something I will live with, and learn from, for the rest of my life,” she wrote. “I am grateful that this matter has been legally resolved, and I do not take lightly the second chance the court has given me.”
Police released body camera footage of the arrest, which shows LaPlaca stumbling during a field sobriety test. Officers searched her car and found a water bottle filled with alcohol. When asked if she had been drinking, she replied, “Yes.” She admitted to drinking vodka before picking her son up from day care.
As part of the plea deal, LaPlaca will avoid jail time and can keep her position on the town committee. She must attend AA meetings, and her car must have an ignition locking device installed to prevent future drunk driving.
LaPlaca also apologized to the people of Lumberton, saying she “will spend every day moving forward striving to be worthy of the second chance I have been given.”