An allegedly drunken city employee careened his car into a minivan early yesterday, leaving both vehicles a tangle of fiery metal, witnesses said.
Jesse Strauss, 29, an investigator for the city’s Business Integrity Commission, was charged with DWI and aggravated vehicular assault after the 4:46 a.m. accident on South Street — and was suspended pending an investigation.
Both he and the minivan’s driver remained at Bellevue Hospital yesterday, and are expected to survive.
An eyewitness said Strauss’ car was racing at 100 mph on FDR Drive before the accident.
“He flew past us. He was swerving in and out of traffic,” said driver Nicholas Encarnacion, 21.
Encarnacion said he later wound up next to the reckless driver at a traffic light at the South Street exit.
“Even though he stopped for the light, he peeled off again,” Encarnacion added. “I could hear the tires screeching. He picked up a lot of speed.”
Strauss slammed his Toyota Camry into the minivan as it was pulling into a lane at South and Clinton streets, Encarnacion said.
Sanitation workers helped pull Strauss from his wrecked car that had burst into flames. Strauss had an injured leg and a cut on his face, Encarnacion said.
The driver of the minivan had just dropped off his daughter, Encarnacion said.