Several people have been critically injured after an alleged drunk driver struck an NJ Transit bus early Friday in Newark, according to authorities.
Shards of glass and chunks of metal littered the road at Central Avenue and South Eighth Street as police investigated the crash, which left both streets closed to traffic just before 2 a.m.
The car was allegedly speeding down Central Avenue when it struck the bus, which was on Eighth Street, prosecutors said. It was not immediately clear if the car ran a red light.
Authorities said two people were inside the car at the time of the crash. The driver, who was bleeding and badly injured, allegedly attempted to flee the scene, but police apprehended him at an Exxon gas station down the street and arrested him, a law enforcement source said.
The driver's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, the source said.
Meanwhile, the car’s passenger, who the source described as a young man, sustained critical injuries. Rescuers had to cut through the car's roof to get to him and he was transported to University Hospital where doctors performed surgery on him.
The driver of the bus was uninjured, but was taken to the hospital for evaluation. Six bus passengers were also taken to the hospital, and several are in critical condition, prosecutors said.
