One of the drivers of the two double-decker tour buses that collided in Times Square on Tuesday has been charged with driving while impaired, CNN reported on Wednesday.
William Dalambert, 58, of Irvington, N.J., was nailed with the charge due to taking drugs, an official told CNN. Police are not yet able to say what drug or combination of drugs Dalambert had taken before the accident.
At least 13 people were injured when the collision happen at about 4 p.m. Dalambert was operating a Gray Line tour bus that struck another double-decker bus on 47th Street and Seventh Avenue at Times Square, next to a normally crowded sidewalk in front of TKTS booth.
A preliminary investigation by police showed that Dalambert was traveling southbound on Seventh Avenue and sideswiped a City Lights bus and a GMC Yukon also traveling southbound on the same street. His bus jumped onto the sidewalk and struck a traffic light pole, causing it to fall on the sidewalk.
Authorities say none of the injuries was thought to be life-threatening, according to Yahoo, but witnesses said the Gray Line bus rolled into the area at high speed.
The man agreed to a field sobriety test at the scene and failed it, but later agreed to give a blood and urine sample.
This is, in fact, not Dalambert's first instance of vehicular trouble. He's had his driver's license suspended 11 times, The New York Post reported, for violations including not having insurance, unpaid child support and not filling out paperwork properly. He also had his registration suspended nine times for driving uninsured. He did have a valid license at the time of the crash on Tuesday.
The 58-year-old driver stated that the crash was caused because of a fault with the bus' break, but it checked out with no signs of mechanical problems when inspected.
