A 71-year-old Cliffside Park man has been charged with third-degree assault by auto and driving while intoxicated after the car he was driving struck a parked vehicle and rolled onto its side in Bogota, New Jersey, seriously injuring his 70-year-old passenger, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office announced on Monday, November 2.
Source: Bergen County Prosecutor's Office
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of Yun S. Kang, 71, of Cliffside Park. The charges follow a joint investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of Chief Jeff Angermeyer, and the Bogota Police Department, under the direction of Chief Daniel Maye.
What happened on Queen Anne Road
On Friday, October 30, 2026, at approximately 8:33 p.m., Bogota police officers responded to a serious motor vehicle crash on Queen Anne Road, near the intersection of Maple Street in Bogota, a small borough in Bergen County. When officers arrived, they found a 2018 Kia lying on its side, with Kang and an adult passenger trapped inside the vehicle.
Responding officers quickly extricated both men from the overturned car. Kang was uninjured. The passenger, identified as a 70-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey, sustained serious injuries and was transported to an area hospital, where he remains hospitalized in stable condition, according to the prosecutor's office.
How investigators say the crash happened
During the investigation, officers determined that Kang was operating the 2018 Kia southbound on Queen Anne Road when he struck a legally parked and unoccupied vehicle, causing the Kia to roll onto its side. Investigators say Kang was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
Because of the severity of the passenger's injuries and the suspicion that the driver had been operating under the influence of alcohol, the Bogota Police Department notified the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit. Detectives from the Fatal Accident Investigation Unit and accident investigators from the Bergen County Fatal Accident Task Force responded to the scene and began a joint investigation into the circumstances of the collision.
The charges and the first court appearance
As a result of that investigation, Kang was charged on Saturday, October 31, 2026, with third-degree assault by auto under New Jersey law, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1c(2), as well as driving while intoxicated and related motor vehicle offenses. He was remanded to the Bergen County Jail, made a first appearance in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, and was subsequently released pending further court action.
Prosecutor Mark Musella states that the charges are merely accusations, and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
What assault by auto means under New Jersey law
New Jersey's assault by auto statute covers injuries caused to another person through the reckless operation of a vehicle. Where a driver is accused of driving while intoxicated and another person suffers serious bodily injury, the offence can be graded as a third-degree crime, as alleged in this case. Third-degree crimes in New Jersey generally carry a potential sentence of three to five years in state prison on conviction, in addition to any separate penalties for driving while intoxicated, which can include fines, licence suspension and ignition-interlock requirements. Those outcomes are for the court to decide; no finding of guilt has been made in this case.
Why this case matters beyond one street in Bogota
Queen Anne Road is a local residential route in a densely settled part of Bergen County, minutes from the Route 4 and Interstate 80 corridors that carry heavy commuter and truck traffic across northern New Jersey toward New York City. Bergen County and the wider northern New Jersey region are home to large immigrant communities — including Punjabi and other South Asian families in towns across the county and neighbouring Hudson and Middlesex counties — for whom local road-safety enforcement is a daily, practical concern. Prosecutors say the multi-agency response reflects how seriously Bergen County treats crashes in which alcohol is suspected and someone is seriously hurt: even where no one is killed, a dedicated Fatal Accident Task Force reconstructs the scene.
Prosecutor Musella thanked the Bogota Police Department and the Bergen County Sheriff's Office for their assistance, and also thanked the Norwood Police Department, the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department and the Wyckoff Police Department, which all participate in the Bergen County Fatal Accident Task Force.
What happens next
Kang has been released pending further court action in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack. The case is expected to move through the county's criminal process, where prosecutors will decide how to present the charges and a court will set future hearing dates. The passenger remains in hospital in stable condition. Anyone with information about the crash can contact the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office through its crime-tips line.