A New Jersey Department of Transportation official accused of drunkenly driving with her three young daughters and crashing into truck had open bottles of wine in her vehicle and a blood alcohol level more than four times the legal limit, according to court documents.
Megan Fackler has been charged with driving under the influence in addition to three counts of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the crash last year in Ewing Township, according to a criminal complaint obtained by NJ Advance Media on Tuesday. She served as director of statewide planning for the state Department of Transportation, per LinkedIn.
Fackler was driving her children — ages 8, 7, and 4 years old — from lacrosse practice on Oct. 5, 2024 when she drifted into incoming traffic and crashed her 2020 Chevrolet Traverse into a white box truck at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Summit Avenue, police said. Bodycam footage, obtained by Transparency Bodycam earlier this month, shows Fackler refusing to exit her vehicle, slurring and rambling all the while repeatedly telling responding officers she works for the state Department of Transportation.
“Sorry, I’m a little out of sorts right now,” she tells that at the start of the clip, more than hour long in total.
After nearly 30 minutes, Fackler agrees to get out of the car, and then goes on to fail multiple sobriety tests, the Daily Voice reported.
“Alright, we’re done with the test,” the officer tells her. “You can’t even stand up.”
Fackler was arrested and her blood alcohol content later registered at 0.371% — nearly five times the state’s legal limit of 0.08%. What’s more, authorities also uncovered four open bottles of wine inside her car, though Fackler denied drinking in the lead-up to the crash.
