Off-Duty State Trooper Charged With DUI, Suspended

Authorities believe an off-duty New Jersey state trooper was drunk when he hit two parked cars and crashed his unmarked State Police vehicle into a creek.

Trooper Kevin Byrne is charged in Lake Como with driving under the influence of alcohol, careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

A State Police spokesman tells The Star-Ledger of Newark the 33-year-old was arrested by other troopers around 3 a.m. at his home in nearby Spring Lake Heights on July 25.

No one was injured in the wreck.

The 10-year veteran is assigned to an elite emergency response unit. Byrne earned $94,232 last year in regular salary, not counting overtime and special pay.

He was suspended without pay.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)