Ed McKenna, putting on headphones at left, with then-Governor Jon Corzine at the Kaboom Fireworks on the Navesink in Marine Park in 2009. (Click to enlarge)
Former Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna pleaded not guilty Tuesday to drunken driving charges arising from a spin-out on the Garden State Parkway last month, the Asbury Park Press reported.
McKenna was not present for the scheduled first appearance in the matter, the Press reported, and the plea was entered on his behalf by his lawyer and associate, Ed Washburne.
From the Press:
McKenna, 63, was charged by State Police with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and unsafe lane change, after the car he was driving crashed on the Parkway in Tinton Falls on May 13.
We just received the discovery yesterday (Monday) and would ask for a postponement, Washburne said to Municipal Court Judge Richard B. Thompson.
The judge told him a new date would be set and well see you in a couple of weeks.
Washburne declined to comment about the case after appearing before the judge.
According to State Police, McKenna was traveling northbound in the express lanes of the Parkway at about 9:50 p.m. on May 13 when his black 2012 Mercedes sedan traveled along the guardrail, then stopped in a position facing oncoming traffic in the right lane.
McKenna is alleged to have then resumed driving south, in the direction of oncoming cars, before stopping on the shoulder in the vicinity of milepost 108. That’s where he was arrested, authorities said.
The 63-year-old McKenna, who served as mayor from 1990 through 2006, was involved in an an accident in 2009, when he struck a pedestrian crossing East Front Street outside Riverview Medical Center. The extent of the victims injuries were not reported by police at the time, and McKenna was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a right-of-way.
In October, 2000, McKenna was involved in a fender-bender at milepost 110 of the Parkway that raised questions about whether he had improperly left the scene before police arrived.
McKenna serves as chairman of the New Jersey State Planning Commission.
