Jersey City Councilwoman Amy DeGise pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident.
She was fined $5,000.
In addition, her driver's license will be suspended for a year.
DeGise (pictured above in a photo by Al Sullivan) made her first — and possibly only — court appearance today in Essex County, in connection with last summer’s hit-and-run with a bicyclist.
From The Gothamist:
"In July, she was caught on video hitting a bicyclist at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Forrest Street in her SUV and driving on without ever hitting the brakes. She turned herself in to the Jersey City Police about six hours later and the video eventually went viral."
More later.
The following is a statement from Jersey City Councilwoman at-Large DeGise:
"Now that this legal matter has been resolved and I am no longer required to maintain my silence, I want to speak directly to the people of the community I have always called home and that I love with all my heart, Jersey City. Seven months ago I made a mistake that I will regret for the rest of my life. I want to offer my heartfelt apology to Andrew Black and I am thankful that he was not hurt. I also want to apologize to the people of Jersey City for not only my actions, but for the negative attention they brought to our wonderful community. As someone who grew up here and has seen how much Jersey City has grown and progressed, the last thing I would ever want to do is damage our city's reputation and undermine the work that is happening every day in local government to make it an even better place to live, work and raise a family.
"Public service is in my blood and is my calling. Helping people and building solutions in my home city means everything to me. I have tried to focus since that day on continuing to serve my community with humility and a genuine desire to give back through meaningful work and fighting to make a difference in my constituents' lives. I will continue to do whatever I can to help my community as an elected member of the City Council, and I will be serving the remainder of my term.
"I fully accept the legal consequences of my actions and now have an opportunity to serve my community, regain the trust of the people, and live out my values each and every day. We all make mistakes in life, and I am so thankful to my family, friends, and core supporters who have stuck by me throughout this process. I can promise the people of Jersey City, both those who support me and those who do not, that I will work as hard as I can to be an effective representative on the City Council. I am looking forward to moving ahead and taking everything I have learned in these past few months to represent this city and myself in the best way possible."
I had an encounter with her one over my dog. She’s not a very nice person. Happy to see she’s getting what she deserves.
Lol< Somebody Upset 😡 You Won't Be Saying That If That Was Your Love Ones & Specially If That Was Your Child👈 Than We Will See Who Would Be A Piece Of 💩👈 🤣
Who the fuck are you to judge what another person feels? I'm not excusing her actions, but if you compare this to other, more serious crimes, your response is inappropriate. If you don't want to accept her apology, that's on you, and it shows what a POS you are
She is Thankful Andrew Black was not hurt. She should be thankful he was not killed. Her apologies means nothing, a $5,000 fine means nothing. She should be dismissed from any public office forever and, at the very least, some minimal jail time and community service for fleeing the scene of an accident.
She still does not understand the seriousness of her actions.