NJ Priest Arrested, Crashed Into Pregnant Woman's Car: Reports

A New Jersey priest was recently arrested after he crashed into a pregnant woman's car, according to reports.

Monsignor Anthony Figueiredo, 54, of the Archdiocese of Newark was arrested in England for crashing into a pregnant woman's car while driving at twice the legal limit for alcohol, according to NJ Advance Media.

Figueiredo worked closely with the Pope, advised cardinals and was a former spiritual adviser to student priests in Rome, according to The Daily Mail.

The priest was recalled to the archdiocese "within the last week," Archdiocese of Newark Spokesperson James Goodness told NJ Advance Media. "He has been recalled to the archdiocese from earlier assignment in Italy," Goodness said.

Olivia Parfitt, 35, of Guildford, UK, the pregnant driver, told the Daily Mail she was on her way home from work on Oct. 1 when a Nissan driven by Figueiredo hit the rear passenger side of her Range Rover on a highway in southern England.

Parfitt was not injured but she said the New Jersey priest tried to blame the accident on her before he drove away, according to WCBS 880. Figueiredo was eventually stopped, administered a breath test and was then held in a police cell overnight; he was charged with driving a motor vehicle above the legal limit.

Figueiredo pleaded guilty at Guildford Magistrates' Court on Oct. 19 and was banned from driving for 18 months, The Daily Mail said. Parfitt and her unborn baby were fine following the accident.

Figueiredo has served the church for nearly 30 years. In 1990, he entered Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology in the Archdiocese of Newark, obtaining the Master of Divinity degree. Ordained in 1994, he first served as priest secretary to Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, then in missions of the Archdiocese in Estonia, and finally in a parish of Newark before being sent to Rome to study, according to a biography of him published on winepilgrimages.com.

Here is a video showing an interview with him:

YouTube photo/video of Anthony Figueiredo