Police: Man Drove on Wrong Side of Road, Passed Out in Parking Lot

A Hopatcong man drove on the wrong side of the road, nearly striking another motorist, before he was found slumped over the wheel and passed out in the Quick Chek parking lot, police said.

Kyle Carpenter, 27, of Hopatcong, was charged with reckless driving, possession of a hypodermic needle and being under the influence of a controlled substance, according to a police department statement.

Lt. Thomas Kmetz said Officer David Kraus responded to the convenience store after getting a report of a possible drunken driver shortly after noon on Sept. 21.

The person who called police said the vehicle had been driving on the wrong side of the road and nearly struck the caller, Kmetz said. When Kraus arrived, he found the vehicle parked , but running, in the Quick Chek lot with the driver slumped over the steering wheel passed out, Kmetz said.

Kmetz said Kraus turned off the vehicle's engine and shook the driver, later identified as Carpenter, to awaken him. 

"He was moving very slow and his speech was very low," Kmetz said. "Officer Kraus could see track marks on Carpenter's arms. There was a fresh puncture site that was still bleeding."

The department statement noted that a hypodermic needle was found in the vehicle and that Carpenter failed field sobriety tests.

Carpenter was charged and later released to a family member, Kmetz said.