Menendez’s wife — accused of taking luxury car as bribe — has spotty driving record

The record is in: Nadine Menendez is a bad, or maybe unlucky, driver.

The wife of indicted Sen. Bob Menendez racked up 10 points for driving infractions in New Jersey since 2005, according to driving records the New Jersey Monitor obtained through the state Open Public Records Act.

While bad drivers statewide might wonder what’s the big deal, Menendez was at the wheel in December 2018 when she hit a pedestrian and killed him in Bogota (she was not charged). And federal prosecutors say the new Mercedes-Benz convertible she got in April 2019 to replace the car she wrecked by hitting Richard Koop was part of a massive corruption scheme that prompted authorities to indict her, her husband, and others identified as their bribers.

Her driving record shows that she was cited for using a hand-held phone while driving in September 2021, maintenance of lamps in 2016, speeding twice on the same day in 2010, improper passing in 2007, and failure to observe a traffic control device in 2005.

The citations earned her 10 points on her driver’s record. If you get six points within three years in New Jersey, you get fined, and 12 points in the same period gets your license suspended.

The record also shows she took several defensive driving courses to get the 10 points stricken from her record.

It references the Dec. 12, 2018, crash that killed Koop, but no points were levied in that incident.

Menendez’s attorney, Danny Onorato, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

The crash and the controversy surrounding it — she left the scene without police ticketing or testing her for intoxication — drove a state lawmaker to introduce legislation in the last legislative session to require breath or blood tests in vehicle crashes involving pedestrians. It didn’t pass, but the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz (R-Union), reintroduced the bill last month for the new session.