MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A Jersey City man with a suspended license was charged Monday with vehicular assault and DWI after allegedly slamming his silver Mercedes-Benz into an airport shuttle filled with passengers early Sunday morning.
Imran Ahmed, 27, sped through a red light at the corner of 50th Street and Sixth Avenue at 4:40 am Sunday morning, crashing into a GO Airlink van in front of Radio City Music Hall, according to a criminal complaint. Five people were injured in the crash.
Prosecutors said Ahmed, who was on probation for felony conviction related to selling drugs, had a blood alcohol level of .119 when he was tested at the scene — well above the legal limit of .08.
Witnesses said Ahmed “reeked of alcohol,” prosecutors said at Ahmed’s arraignment Monday.
Four passengers and the van’s driver were all injured in the crash. The driver, ejected from the car from the force of the impact, was found lying on Sixth Avenue, according to the complaint.
One passenger suffered from a fractured skull and a broken neck, according to the complaint. Another had a broken hand.
Ahmed, who works at an automotive repair shop in Jersey City, has had his license suspended at least three times, according to the criminal complaint.
Witnesses had reported that Ahmed was racing another car at the time of the accident, but Ahmed’s lawyer, Zachary Johnson, denied that allegation.
Ahmed is being held on a $250,000 bond or $100,000 cash bail.
