A Passaic police officer stopped the speeding vehicle at Tulip and Oak streets after hearing gunshots before dawn near the corner of Main Avenue and Chestnut Street on Sept. 7.
The officer found the driver, Ricardo N. Collazo, 20, of Paterson, with a gunshot wound, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Passaic Police Chief Luis A. Guzman said in a joint announcement.
Two 18-year-old men were also injured -- one with a graze wound and the other with cuts from broken glass – but refused medical treatment, they said.
Police opened the trunk to retrieve one of several bullets that struck the vehicle when they found a handgun there, Valdes and Guzman said.
Collazo was taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center for treatment before being sent to the Passaic County Jail, they said.
He’s charged with illegal possession of a handgun and a large-capacity magazine.
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