BOGOTA, N.J. — A 71-year-old Cliffside Park man is facing assault by auto and drunk driving charges after allegedly crashing into a parked car in Bogota, flipping his vehicle onto its side and leaving his 70-year-old passenger seriously injured.
Yun S. Kang was driving a 2018 Kia south on Queen Anne Road near Maple Street around 8:33 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, when he struck a legally parked, unoccupied vehicle, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.
The impact caused Kang's Kia to roll onto its side, trapping him and his passenger, a 70-year-old Fairview man, inside.
Responding Bogota police officers extricated both men from the overturned vehicle.
Kang escaped injury, but his passenger suffered serious injuries and was rushed to an area hospital, where he remained hospitalized in stable condition as of Monday, Nov. 2.
Investigators suspected Kang was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
Because of the severity of the passenger's injuries and the suspected intoxication, Bogota police called in the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit.
Detectives from the prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigation Unit and investigators from the Bergen County Fatal Accident Task Force responded to reconstruct the crash and investigate its circumstances.
On Saturday, Oct. 31, Kang was charged with third-degree assault by auto, driving while intoxicated and related motor vehicle offenses.
He was taken to the Bergen County Jail and appeared in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack before being released pending further court proceedings.
The investigation was conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and Bogota Police Department, with assistance from the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and members of the county's Fatal Accident Task Force.
The charges are accusations. Kang is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
