Thomas MacMillan Photo
A man who smashed into a Honda sedan and sent two women to the hospital said he didn’t notice the light was red.
The man, who was driving a red Ford Escape, said he drove into the Honda at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Olive Street just after 10 a.m. Wednesday.
At 10:45, the man, who declined to give his name, was standing outside the Olive and Grand Food Mart corner store, surveying the damage to the Honda. Cops were directing traffic nearby.
The man, who wore a red Yankees cap, said he had been headed home, traveling east into Fair Haven on Grand Avenue and ran the red light. “I took the red light by accident.” He smashed into the Honda, which was headed south on Olive Street.
The man said two women were inside the Honda. They seemed fine, he said, but were taken to the hospital.
A peek inside the Honda revealed that at least the airbags had deployed. The front of the car was crumpled and the vehicle’s bumper lay on the sidewalk.
The Ford Escape suffered damage to its front end as well.
A clerk inside the Food Mart said she heard the accident. It sounded like a loud bang, she said. “It makes me nervous.”
Police issued the driver a $136 ticket for running the light, according to Lt. Jeff Hoffman. The two women, who are in their 70s, had non-life-threatening injuries.
People run red lights at that intersection ALL the time. I'm surprised it's taken that long for this kind of accident to occur, and hope the women will be Ok. Does anyone ever get a ticket for running a red light?