Student Charged In Fort Lee Car Accident

FORT LEE, NJ — A 19-year-old New York City man who drove into oncoming traffic and left behind at least one seriously injured person, was charged with aggravated assault by auto and other offenses, authorities said Monday.

Jordaniel Ortega, a student from the Bronx, fled the scene on foot when his car hit another car on Bergen Boulevard after he drove into oncoming traffic to get around another vehicle at a traffic light, Gurbir S. Grewal, Bergen County's acting prosecutor, said in a news release.

Ortega reportedly left "his passenger, injured in the vehicle," and that "the victim of the assault remains hospitalized at Hackensack University Medical Center with serious." The victim was not identified.

The release did not specific how many people were injured in the accident.

Ortega's car was heading north on Bergen Boulevard when he drove into the southbound after 2 p.m., the news release said. He was charged on Sunday, according to the release.

Ortega was charged with endangering an injured victim and leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury, aggravated assault by auto, and causing an injury while driving with a suspended license, Grewal said.

Ortega was also issued traffic summonses for reckless driving, failure to observe a traffic signal, improper passing, leaving the scene of an accident, and driving with a suspended license, Grewal said. He was released on his own recognizance pending a Sept. 9 court appearance, Grewal said.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Jordaniel Ortega, 19 — Bergen County Prosecutor's Office