Crime & Safety

Coffee Crashes Into Lap, Car into Another

Police charge 19-year-old who says spilled drink caused him to drive into other lane.

A 19-year-old driver told police earlier this month a spilled coffee cup was to blame for a crash that injured several people.

Four people were transported to Morristown Medical Center the night of Sept. 9, after two vehicles collided on Hanover Avenue at Speedwell Avenue, Morris Plains Detective Bruce Rapp said.

The 19-year-old man was driving his car east when he spilled coffee on his lap, causing him to drive into oncoming traffic and crash into another vehicle, Rapp said. The 19-year-old and his three female passengers all suffered injuries including lacerations to the face and head, and one occupant of the car suffered a possible fracture or dislocation, Rapp said.

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Police did not list any injuries for the other driver, a 40-year-old man.

The 19-year-old was issued summonses for alleged careless driving, failure to yield and violation of the passenger restriction statute in the state's provisional driver's license law.

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