A Morristown man was charged with DWI and leaving the scene of an accident after his pickup truck collided with a car.
A suspected drunk driver who fled the scene of an accident told a police officer he did so because he felt scared because the crash occurred in "redneck country."
The crash happened Sunday at the intersection of Route 15 and Houses Corner Road in Sparta, Sussex County.
Michael Gormley, 48, of Morristown was turning onto Houses Corner Road in his Chevrolet pickup when he hit another vehicle that was making a turn, Lt. John Lamon said.
Gormley kept going after the collision, but two other motorists followed him as he turned onto Demarest Road, about a half mile from the scene, and pulled over on a dirt patch off the road there. The drivers called police and told them where they saw the pickup parked.
An officer pulled up to Gormley's truck and asked if he had left the scene of an accident.
That was when Gormley made the comment to an officer that he didn't feel safe in "redneck country," Lamon said.
"It'd be one thing to say that if a bunch of guys with shotguns got out of their cars and went after him," Lamon said. "But this was a quiet night with not many people around."
After failing a breath test, Gormley was charged with driving while intoxicated, careless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident. He was released to a sober driver pending a court appearance.
The driver of the other vehicle was examined at the scene but refused medical treatment.
Sussex County, a mostly rural, forested area, has the fourth largest median household income in New Jersey. However, Sparta is the second least diverse town in the state.
Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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