NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—In the aftermath of a one-car crash, a councilwoman is facing charges of driving recklessly and intoxicated at a level more than three times the legal limit.
On March 8 at approximately 11:39pm, Councilwoman Suzanne Sicora-Ludwig crashed her 2014 Range Rover sport utility vehicle into a tree near her home, according to city records.
Police responded, Sicora-Ludwig was hospitalized, and the councilwoman was later charged with five violations of Title 39, the state’s motor vehicle law, including reckless driving and operating while intoxicated.
Elected to the City Council for the first time in 2016, Sicora-Ludwig’s backers filed petitions for her to run for a third term on March 25. Sicora-Ludwig signed her candidate oath of allegiance on March 20, less than two weeks after her crash.
The crash occurred on Edgebrook Road, according to a preliminary version of the crash report on the city’s website. Sicora-Ludwig lives about 750 feet away on Voorhees Road.
Sicora-Ludwig’s motor vehicle registration expired in 2022, and according to police, she never provided any proof of an auto insurance policy, so she faces additional charges for operating an unregistered motor vehicle, driving while uninsured, and failing to provide proof of insurance.
The last two charges were only filed after New Brunswick Today (NBT) started asking questions and filing requests for information and records about the crash.
In a completed version of the report obtained by NBT on May 21, police revealed the alarming results from a blood alcohol test done on Sicora-Ludwig’s blood while she was hospitalized.
Sicora-Ludwig’s sample came back with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .26%, more than three times the legal limit for drivers of .08%.
When questioned about the crash after a recent City Council meeting, Sicora-Ludwig repeatedly declined to comment.
It’s not the first time she was at a loss for words. According to a responding officer with the New Brunswick Police Department (NBPD), Sicora-Ludwig was unable to explain what happened leading up to the crash.
“She was unable to tell me what had happened… only that she was coming home from dinner,” wrote Officer Taylor Tiongson-Cradic, who noted in his report that Sicora-Ludwig’s vehicle “was off the road, on the left side of the road facing the opposite direction of travel… on the grass, with the front end against a tree.”
Police took possession of the Range Rover, and noted it had sustained “heavy/disabling damage to the front end bumper.” One piece of city property, a permit parking sign, was also damaged in the crash, according to Tiongson-Cradic’s report.
“There’s a police investigation. She’ll have her day in court and we’ll see how due process works out,” said JT Miller, the ex-NBPD Deputy Director who quickly returned to city government as one of two public information officers in the office of Mayor James Cahill.
Asked if Mayor Cahill would still be supporting the Councilwoman’s re-election, Miller said it was “too early to say.”
“I haven’t talked with the Mayor about who he’s supporting,” said Miller. “People are entitled to their day in court.”
Sicora-Ludwig faces no opponents in the June 4 primary election, but could face opposition from other candidates in November’s general election.
Neither the New Brunswick Democratic Organization or the Middlesex County Democratic Organization responded to requests for comment about their candidate’s crash.
Sicora-Ludwig is one of five incumbent members of the New Brunswick City Council seeking re-election, ostensibly with the support of Cahill and other Democratic leaders.
City Council President Rebecca Escobar did not respond to questions from NBT.
NBT has filed an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request with the City of New Brunswick for copies of all recordings related to the March 8 crash.
Municipal court staff said the case will be moved out of New Brunswick’s court, and that Sicora-Ludwig has no attorney officially representing her on the case yet.
“There is no attorney of record as of now,” said Municipal Court Administrator Kimberly Milligan on May 17.
“The case will be transferred to another court,” Milligan told NBT on May 21. “I am waiting to hear from the presiding judge as to where it will go.”
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Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
