Mom Arrested for Driving Drunk With 6-Year-Old in Tow

Police say her blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit

A Rye Brook woman was arrested for driving drunk with her 6-year-old daughter in the car after she caused an accident on the Taconic State Parkway on New Year's Eve.

Suji Alexander-Raja, 37, drove off the roadway and hit a guardrail in the Town of East Fishkill. When state police arrived, they found Alexander-Raja and her daughter standing outside the vehicle, which was the only car involved in the crash.

After smelling alcohol on her breath, the trooper instructed Alexander-Raja to complete field tests, which she failed, authorities say. Her Breathalyzer test indicated a blood alcohol level of 0.32 percent -- four times the legal limit in the state, police said.

Alexander-Raja was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child younger than 15 years old -- a felony under Leandra's Law, which was enacted two years ago after an 11-year-old girl was killed by a drunk driver on her way to a sleepover.

Alexander-Raja, who told cops she's a doctor, was arraigned in the Town of East Fishkill Court and remanded to Dutchess County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail. A family member picked up her 6-year-old daughter and Child Protective Services was notified.

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