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Mayor Arrested for DUI After Daycare Pickup on St. Patrick’s Day

Residents say it’s not the first time Gina LaPlaca has been drunk in public.

A New Jersey mayor was arrested after allegedly downing too many drinks and getting behind the wheel to pick up her toddler from daycare on St. Patrick’s Day. A bystander took a video of Gina LaPlaca swerving on the road and almost hitting a utility pole. When police traced the car, they arrived at the mayor’s house. She allegedly drove with an open bottle of alcohol and her 2-year-old strapped in a car seat. LaPlaca, who is the mayor of Lumberton, was charged with a DUI, driving recklessly, and endangering a child. It’s not the first time she’s been accused of heavy drinking—earlier this month, she was escorted out of a town meeting after calling one attendee a “f---ing s---k bitch” and slurring her words. LaPlaca’s husband said the mayor will seek treatment for addiction. “Millions of Americans struggle with addiction and never get help,” he wrote on Facebook. “Gina LaPlaca is someone who has struggled, and is now getting the help she needs.” He added that he hopes people keep her in their thoughts as she “moves forward on her road to recovery.”