Crime & Safety

Police: Garfield Teen Had Open Containers of Booze in Accident that Sent 8 to Hospital

Alicja Butas, 18, faces several alcohol and motor vehicle-related charges for allegedly striking a minivan full of children on the night of September 18

A Garfield teen faces several alcohol and motor vehicle charges in connection with a .

Police claim Alicja Butas, 18, of Garfield, was intoxicated and had open containers of alcohol in her vehicle while driving west-bound on East Ridgewood Avenue around 10:30 p.m. when she struck a minivan full of children.

According to the accident report, Butas' late-model Scion abruptly hopped the curb, struck the bushes of a lawn and a firebox before slamming into a minivan that had been waiting at a red light at the intersection of North Pleasant Avenue. The force of the impact pushed both vehicles westbound, knocking down a "No turn on red" sign before the vehicles came to rest in the bushes nearby.

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The report claims that while searching the vehicle for insurance and registration cards, officers discovered what appeared to be spilled alcohol on the driver's seat and center console, as well as beer caps on the floor; police say they later found two cold beer bottles in the near-by bushes, which they claim matched the caps found inside the vehicle.

Six occupants of the minivan, which included four children, were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with complaints of injury ranging from head and chest trauma, to bloody noses and headaches, according to the accident report. Two of the children were unhurt, the report stated. All occupants of the minivan were able to remove themselves from the vehicle, police say.

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Butas, however, needed to be extricated by emergency personnel with complaints of leg injuries; the passenger of the Scion, an 18-year-old female, was able to extricate herself though she too complained of an ankle injury, the report states. Both vehicles were heavily damaged and had to be towed from the scene.

Police say Butas has been charged with multiple charges of open containers of alcohol in a motor vehicle; DWI; careless driving; damage to property (the destruction of a fire box, road sign and nearby lawns); as well as a summons for failure to keep right.


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