CLIFTON — A drunk woman crashed her vehicle into a marked police car, sending it careening into a tree where it burst into flames, prosecutors and police said.
Jacqueline Perez, 23, was driving her 2011 Hyundai Sonata on Townsend Avenue when she tried to make a left turn onto Bay Street at about 6:10 a.m. Saturday, police said.
Perez ran a stop sign during the turn and crashed into a marked NYPD car, police said.
The impact caused the police car to crash into a nearby tree and burst into flames, police said.
The two officers in the car were transported to Richmond University Medical Center with minor injuries, police said.
When other officers arrived at the scene, Perez slurred her words and told them "I drank but a long time ago, like lunchtime," prosecutors said.
A breathalyzer test taken at the scene showed Perez had a blood alcohol content of .085, above the legal limit of .08, prosecutors said.
Perez was charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment, assault and criminal mischief at her arraignment on Sunday, the Staten Island District Attorney's office said.
She was released Sunday on $5,000 bond, $2,500 cash bail and is due back in court on Friday, according to court records.
Perez's lawyer could not be reached for comment.
