Red Bank reader wonders if justice prevailed

I am writing to you in response to an article that appeared in The Hub on Dec. 15, (McKenna Cleared of Most Charges). Why didn’t it surprise me that Red Bank Mayor Edward J. McKenna came away from his day in court with a slap, if not, a tap, on his wrist. He has the most serious charge, leaving the scene of an accident, dropped. The article states that he took medication because of a bad shoulder from playing golf.

With the majority of pain medications, the patient is either advised by his doctor or pharmacist, or by a warning on the medication vial, that the medication may cause drowsiness or hinder the operation of machinery or driving an automobile. If he was drowsy while driving, why didn’t he make alternate arrangements rather than risk driving home?

After the accident and after waiting for a policeman that he felt took too long to arrive, he decided to leave the scene and go home. Later on, troopers show up at his door to question him, and Mrs. McKenna refuses to wake him up. I find this part the most interesting, for if it were a minority like myself involved in a similar circumstance, I’m sure the results would have been different. The troopers would have insisted that my wife wake me up or they would have done it for her.

From there, I probably would have been taken to a local hospital or police station to give up a urine and blood sample to be analyzed for drug and alcohol content. Then when my day in court came, I highly doubt that my charge of leaving the scene of an accident, along with my other charges, would be dropped or downgraded.

Guess when you are a lawyer and the mayor of Red Bank who knows many people in the right places, the justice system works in dissimilar ways than for others. I’m sure many will say that I am off base for what I have written, that I’m making an issue from a non-issue. So be it, but as I walk away from reading the article, I can’t help wondering what if … .

Jose Torres

Red Bank