Today’s Asbury Park Press has details about that motorist Mayor Mike Halfacre wrote about on his blog yesterday, the guy who is alleged to have nearly struck emergency workers at the scene of downed wires.

Charles Hermansen II, 46, was charged with drunken driving, assault by auto,
aggravated assault, eluding a police officer, and driving with his license revoked,
police Lt. Joseph P. McGovern said. He was released Thursday after posting $7,500 bail, police said.

Police said Hermansen bypassed barricades that had been set up to keep traffic away from some downed power lines near River and Hance roads. When he was initially stopped by a firefighter and a JCP&L employee, they suspected he was drunk and ordered him to shut off his car ignition, McGovern said.

Instead, police said, he gunned the car and drove down Hance Road where he narrowly missed a patrol car operated by Patrolman Jeff Jarvis.

“Patrolman Jarvis quickly swerved his vehicle out of the path of Hermansen’s
vehicle, avoiding a head-on collision,” McGovern said.

Meanwhile, Frank Scalzo, a member of the fire-police, tried to flag Hermansen to a halt, but was struck by his car as he leaped out of the way, police said. He suffered only minor injuries to his left arm, McGovern said.

Police said Hermansen’s car finally spun out at Lewis Point Road and Lewis Lane where it smashed through some shrubs and finally stopped by the side of a house.

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