Upper East Side Crash Driver Was On Drugs, Will Face Charges, Police Say

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A driver who jumped a curb Thursday night on the Upper East Side and crashed into a building on Madison Avenue and East 64th Street — critically injuring himself and a pedestrian — will face criminal charges for the crash.

Huey Bui, 40, has been charged with vehicular assault and operative a motor vehicle impaired by drugs, police told Patch. Police did not specify which drugs Bui is accused of using before the crash.

Bui was driving a Chevy Suburban up Madison Avenue when he jumped the curb and struck a 41-year-old pedestrian, police told Patch. After hitting the pedestrian, Bui crashed the SUV into luxury watch boutique Vacheron Constantin on the corner of East 64th Street before coming to a stop, police said.

Both Bui and the pedestrian — who was not named — were transported to New York Presbyterian hospital, police said. Bui and the pedestrian suffered critical injuries, an FDNY spokesman said. A passenger in the SUV, a 73-year-old woman, was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital suffering minor injuries, police told Patch.

Video taken in the aftermath of the crash shows that Bui came to a stop after crashing into a light pole. A trash can, mailbox and other debris was sent flying into the street during the crash, as shown by the video.

Traffic in the area near the crash — a block which houses fashion boutiques such as Chanel, Alexander McQueen and Giorgio Armani — was shut down as police and fire responders operated on the scene of the crash.

Photo by Google Maps street view