The disgraced ex-New Jersey mayor caught recklessly driving drunk with her 2-year-old son in the car on St. Patrick’s Day will not face jail time because of her “second chance.”

Lumberton Township Committeewoman Gina LaPlaca, who served as mayor last year, pleaded guilty to DUI and child endangerment charges on Tuesday and was sentenced to three years of supervision under an intervention program.

The 46-year-old Democrat will be required to take part in several court-ordered conditions, including attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and complying with New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency requirements, CBS News Philadelphia reported.

LaPlaca celebrated her acceptance into Burlington County’s Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) Program after her arrest over her boozy drive on March 17, 2025.

“I have never felt more humbled than I do standing before my community today,” LaPlaca wrote on Facebook Tuesday.

“The weight of my actions is something I carry deeply. What I did was wrong. It was dangerous. It was inexcusable. I drove while intoxicated with my child in the car — a choice that could have caused irreversible harm. That reality is something I will live with, and learn from, for the rest of my life.”

LaPlaca would have to face her child endangerment charge if she violates the requirements. Her charges would be dismissed after a successful completion of the program.

LaPlaca shot at several news reports claiming she had been denied admission into the program and was facing possible jail time, despite New Jersey court records indicating a Jan. 20 decision that denied her acceptance.

“I have always stood firm in my belief that the outcome is more important than the narrative, and I could not be more grateful for this outcome,” she said.

“I am grateful that this matter has been legally resolved, and I do not take lightly the second chance the court has given me. I see it not as an escape from consequences, but as an opportunity — an opportunity to do better, to be better, and to prove through my actions that I am worthy of that grace,” she added.

LaPlaca claimed she had privately struggled with alcoholism for years until it was no longer private.

“Addiction does not excuse my behavior, but it does explain the work I must continue to do. I am fully committed to my recovery. That commitment begins with my family — especially my children — and extends to every part of my life,” she said.

Last March, the local politician was spotted by another driver driving her son home from daycare, swerving across a road and nearly striking a utility pole during her boozy excursion.

The cautious motorists shared footage of the reckless driver to the police, who tracked the car down to LaPlaca’s home, where they met her in the driveway at around 6 p.m.

Officers discovered the then-mayor’s young son strapped in the backseat and an open container of alcohol scattered in the car.

LaPlaca admitted to drinking and driving and performed a field sobriety test. During the investigation police found that LaPlaca had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.30%, over three times the legal limit, according to CBS News Philadelphia.

The Lumberton Township is governed by a five-member panel of committeepeople who serve three-year terms.

During an annual meeting, the members vote for the mayor and deputy mayor, who serve in the position for one year each.

LaPlaca’s current term ends on Dec. 31, 2026.

As California’s deadly drunk driving problem has exploded in recent years, with the state being home to six of the country’s 10 worst cities for DUIs, the Los Angeles police union is now placing the blame squarely at the feet of socialist politicians for slashing resources and soft on crime policies.

After three LAPD officers were hospitalized during a suspected DUI pursuit in the San Fernando Valley Saturday night, the police union released a fiery statement to The California Post, condemning lefty lawmakers.

“Driving while intoxicated is not a victimless crime and when Los Angeles politicians such as Councilmember Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez repeatedly vote to cut police officers, stop enforcing DUI laws and end most other traffic enforcement, in the name of criminal justice reform, it only makes our streets less safe for every Angeleno,” the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League said in a statement.

And while the officers were lucky to be released from the hospital without any major injuries, some families aren’t so fortunate.

Jennifer Levi knows the pain of losing a love one all too well. Her 18-year-old son was killed by a suspected repeat drunk driver, and thanks to laws regarding non-violent crimes and good behavior, offenders can serve little jail time and find themselves quickly back behind the wheel — something she is afraid will happen in her case. 

“The safety of our roads is deteriorating to a point where everyday it feels like there’s a death from a drunk driver,” said Levi, who lost her son Braun back in May after he was struck and killed while walking home by Jenia Resha Belt, 33, who faces one count of murder.

The California Post has reached out to Raman and Hernandez’s offices for comment but did not hear back.

Now, Levi is one of several victims stepping up to push lawmakers to crack down on California’s lax drunk driving laws, including Democrat State Senator Bob Archuleta, whose eldest granddaughter died from a head-on crash with a drunk driver in 2024.

“You’re intoxicated and you cause great bodily injury to someone, that is considered a violent crime, but the killing of that person would not be a violent crime under current law,” a spokesperson for Archuleta said. 

But it’s not just drunk drivers who are are getting let off the hook, Allison Layman is fighting to revoke another soft law that went into effect in 2021. That law, Assembly Bill 3234, expanded the misdemeanor diversion program to include vehicular manslaughter after her 23-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver.

“What’s happened in the last five years, is judges are, I mean, almost handing it out like candy,” Lyman said of the program that allows offenders to receive less punishment than a speeding ticket in some cases.

Drunk driving continues to be a major problem across the state — with a DUI rate of 3.68 per 1,000 drivers, San Jose is second on the list for worst cities in America, followed by Sacramento, according to recent data from LendingTree. Fresno came in at fifth on the list with a DUI rate of 3.31, followed by Long Beach at seven, then Bakersfield, and Oakland.

Levi’s son, Braun, was one of those tragedies that happens too often in California.

“He was gonna go play tennis at the University of Virginia. He loved life, he was a great kid, he worked hard,” Levi said. “It’s completely devastating to us, and I couldn’t believe it happened to us and it’s just so sad that that our state is like this.”

Braun was a nationally recognized tennis player, who was killed just a week before his high school graduation. 

Just over 1,300 people were killed in an alcohol-involved crash in 2023, representing a more than 50% increase over the past decade, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. Thousands more were injured, and more often than not, it’s a result from repeat offenders, according to a report from CalMatters. 

“What shocks me the most is how little time they serve in jail for killing somebody,” Levi told The California Post. “Right now, you are drunk and you injure someone, you will most likely spend more time in jail than if you kill somebody, because it’s called an accident. Braun’s death certificate says accident. That was not an accident.” 

While Levi’s case is still ongoing, there are even more recent examples of vehicular manslaughter that resulted in early release. Over the weekend, a California woman who killed a 21-year-old cyclist in her fourth distracted-driving crash was set to be released early on Valentine’s Day for good behavior. She began serving a nine-year prison term in 2023. 

“Because the way credits work, for good behavior and doing certain things while you’re incarcerated, non-violent felonies you can get up to 50% of your time taken off, while a violent felony you can only have 15% taken off,” a spokesperson for Archuleta told The Post. 

Archuleta introduced Senate Bill 907, which aims to strengthen California’s DUI enforcement and sentencing laws. 

The bill would target repeat offenders and add gross vehicular manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated to the violent felony list, ensuring those who killed someone while drunk driving serve more time than someone who injures a person. 

Another key provision of the bill is “Braun’s Law,” which mandates Watson Warnings in cases where the perpetrator pleas down from a DUI to a hit and run — following the warning, if a person kills someone while drinking and driving they face second degree murder charges. 

“The Watson Warning is not read consistently throughout California,” Levi said. “The woman who killed our son, she had a previous DUI but made a misdemeanor plea deal for a hit and run and was never read the Watson Warning.”

While the bill, which has bipartisan support, would be a major enhancement on the state’s drunk driving laws, it doesn’t address 2020’s Assembly Bill 3234, which expanded misdemeanor diversion programs to vehicular manslaughter — something Lyman has urged lawmakers to reform after her son Connor Lopez was killed by a distracted driver. 

Lyman, who lost her son last summer, said because of this diversion program, speeding tickets can come with more penalties than vehicular manslaughter. 

“We think it’s to empty the jails, that’s been kind of the consensus as we’ve spoken about it — is there was a big soft on crime push, and they didn’t want to pay to put people in jail,” Lyman told The Post.

An investigation by CalMatters found that because of the misdemeanor diversion program, some people charged with vehicular manslaughter were able to keep the case off their driving record. 

Lopez, a pianist, was killed in April in Elk Grove when a driver turned into oncoming traffic and hit him while riding his motorcycle.

“He died on the road, that driver never got out of her car,” Lyman said. “She sat there as others ran to cover his body.” 

The driver, Harjit Kaur, was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. Connor’s family was told to brace themselves for the likely chance a misdemeanor diversion is granted. 

“We’re just anticipating at one of the hearings that will be part of her defense,” Lyman said. “It’s like the moment you find out about it, you start living that nightmare. It hasn’t even happened yet and you know, we’ve been told brace for it.”

Lyman is now trying to raise as much awareness as possible to revoke the eligibility of diversion programs for vehicular manslaughter convictions, even starting a petition that has garnered nearly 13,000 signatures to push lawmakers to act. 

California has a history of deadly roads, and a criminal justice system that Lyman said “it’s like the compassion goes toward the criminal and not the victim.”

And while no sentence or justice will ever bring their children back, Lyman and Levi are making it their mission to make the state’s roads safer for future generations.

“The woman who killed our son had a suspended license,” Levi said. “Our family will be disappointed and nothing will ever bring our son back and no sentencing or charge will ever feel like enough, but I feel so strongly about changing California for the future.”