Multiple injuries after car crashes into Dunkin' Donuts in Jersey City

[DarkMoment]

Doughnuts.

"Third degree theft by unlawful taking"? What did he steal?

[CeeDub]

Yesh, it was unlawful to take/drive it whilst his license were spended

[Bobblehead]

Since he is being charged with assaulting himself, perhaps he is also being charged with stealing his own car?

[MCA™]

"Third degree theft by unlawful taking"? What did he steal?


Jersey City man hears charges in Dunkin’ Donuts crash that hurt eight people
By Daniel Reyes/The Jersey Journal
on January 15, 2013 at 3:00 AM

The Jersey City man charged with crashing his SUV into a Dunkin’ Donuts in the Jersey City Heights last August while drunk was arraigned yesterday on seven charges of assault by motor vehicle and one charge of theft.

Marco Guardiola, 55, appeared in Hudson County Superior Court on charges related to the Aug. 13 crash that left eight people injured, including a 14-year-old girl who suffered a broken leg and facial lacerations.

Guardiola was arraigned on two counts of third-degree aggravated assault by auto, five counts of fourth-degree aggravated assault by auto, and one count of third-degree theft by unlawful taking.

The New York Avenue man asked through an interpreter to speak with an immigration attorney before taking any plea deal, and asked that his bail be lowered.

Guardiola, whose bail is $35,000, has been in jail since the crash.

Superior Court Judge Joseph Isabella told Guardiola’s attorney to file the necessary paperwork to ask for lower bail before he rules on the request.

The nighttime crash occurred at the Dunkin’ Donuts at the corner of Central Avenue and Griffith Street in Jersey City. Police say Guardiola’s car slammed through a huge glass panel in the shop.

Guardiola was charged with DWI and numerous motor vehicle violations after the crash, according to police reports. Court officials said yesterday that Guardiola, whose driver’s license had been suspended and who had two prior DWI convictions in New York, told a judge in August that he’s an alcoholic.

“I passed out and I lost control,” Guardiola told Central Judicial Processing court Judge Richard Nieto the day after the crash. “I’m sick, I’m sick. I need help.”

A status conference is scheduled for Feb. 11.

[MCA™]

Car crashed into dunkin donut

[MCA™]

Jersey City man charged in Dunkin' Donuts crash tells judge he's an alcoholic
Published: Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 3:00 AM
Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

The Jersey City man charged with crashing his car into a crowded Dunkin’ Donuts while drunk said he is an alcoholic and needs help when he appeared in court on assault by auto charges yesterday.

“I’m sick, I’m sick. I need help,” Marco Guardiola, 55, of New York Avenue, told Central Judicial Processing court Judge Richard Nieto at the hearing at which his bail was set at $35,000. Earlier in the hearing, Guardiola said, “I passed out and I lost control.”

Guardiola was near tears as the judge told him of the injuries suffered by those inside the Central Avenue doughnut shop when his SUV plowed into the store at 8:50 p.m. Monday. Shards of glass scattered like shrapnel.

When the judge asked Guardiola what kind of help he needed, the defendant said he attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and has been arrested twice before on charges of driving while intoxicated. Police are awaiting the results of the blood-alcohol test administered Monday night.

Guardiola’s public defender, the judge and even the prosecutor in the courtroom urged Guardiola to remain silent.

“I don’t know if you realize the seriousness of what you are facing,” Nieto told him. “You have the right to remain silent. Any statements you are making can only harm you, not help you.”

The most seriously injured was a 14-year-old girl who suffered head trauma, multiple fractures to both legs, and deep cuts to her face and chest, officials said. She underwent 3 hours of surgery at the Jersey City Medical Center and was later listed as critical but stable, officials said.

A seriously injured 45-year-old woman was found beneath Guardiola’s SUV, and she had multiple puncture wounds to her chest and back from the glass and abrasions to her arms and legs, police said.

One of those injured was a pregnant woman.

The third person seriously injured was Guardiola, who suffered severe cuts to his face and chest and broken teeth, the criminal complaint says. While in court yesterday, a cut was visible on his chin, a gap in his teeth was visible, and he appeared to have trouble opening his mouth to talk.

Guardiola is charged with eight counts of assault by auto while intoxicated, including assaulting himself, the complaint says. He was also issued numerous motor vehicle summonses, including for driving while intoxicated, speeding, reckless driving, failing to exhibit an insurance card and driver’s license and driving while suspended, police said.

Police believe Guardiola was driving south on Central at up to 15 mph above the 25 mph speed limit when he turned left onto Griffith Street, a police report says.

There were 69 feet of tire marks left on the road and sidewalk as Guardiola tried to turn “at a speed well outside the vehicle’s limitations,” and smashed into the Griffith Street side of the coffee shop, the report says.

The crime of assault by auto while intoxicated and causing serious bodily injury carries a sentence of three to five years in prison upon conviction. At the hearing, Guardiola spoke through a Spanish translator, but at times lapsed into English.

Nieto said Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be notified of Guardiola’s arrest and may seek to place a detainer on him as a start to possible deportation proceedings.

After the hearing, Guardiola was remanded to the Hudson County jail in Kearny.

[Bobblehead]

America Runs On Into Dunkin'

[MCA™]

Multiple injuries after car crashes into Dunkin' Donuts in Jersey City
Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 3:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 9:48 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Dunkin' Donuts Accident gallery (7 photos)

As many as eight people were injured, three critically, after a sports utility vehicle smashed into a Jersey City Dunkin’ Donuts yesterday.

According to police spokesman Stan Eason, the driver of the vehicle was injured, though Eason wasn’t sure of the severity. The cause of the accident, which occurred about 8:45 p.m. on Central Avenue, is under investigation.

Annie Salazar, a Dunkin’ Donuts employee who was inside the store at the time of the crash, said a woman and her three young children were sitting at a table when the car came crashing through, but they escaped with minor injuries.

Eason said investigators “haven’t ruled anything out,” and plan to determine if the driver of the vehicle was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident.

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