US News

DRUG LINK EYED FOR MEN WHO STRUCK HUGHES’ CAR

The men whose car crashed into a rental driven by renowned Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes may have been carrying drugs at the time, a published account says.

In the aftermath of the head-on crash in Australia on May 28, witnesses said one of three men in the car grabbed two bags of luggage and hid them in bushes, The Weekend Australian reported.

The passenger then retrieved the bag after being offered a ride to a hospital by a passing motorist, the paper said.

Hughes, who was traveling alone, was seriously injured in the pile-up near the northwestern city of Broome and had to be pried out by officers using the Jaws of Life.

Two men in the car that collided with that driven by Hughes reportedly have arrest records that include convictions on drug charges.

Police haven’t commented on speculation about the luggage, but the paper said one of the passengers “is believed to have admitted the bags contained a small amount of drugs for personal use.”

Hughes is an influential art critic and author. The 60-year-old Sydney native has lived in New York for 30 years and was in Australia filming a six-part series for the BBC.