Updated: Traffic backed up Thursday evening in Sloatsburg along Rt. 17 in the center of the village as an apparently drunk driver engaged in a bout of live action bumper car.

Police direct traffic during the Thursday evening accident on Rt. 17 in Sloatsburg.

According to Steve Lieberman in LoHud, 71-year old James Bryant was charged with DWI, driving without a license, as well as a few other citations, after he rammed two other vehicles and then came to a stop on the side of the road, where he sat until police found him.

Witnesses said the car was possibly missing a tire and throwing off sparks as it moved through the village before hitting other cars and veering off into a stone wall near the Village Hall.

“I was only a few cars away from this driver and this car was losing parts throughout Sloatsburg,” said Joan, a possible witness to the accident. “[It] was throwing sparks when it got to town, and then went into a rock wall and the car was smoking.”

The accident caused 5 o’clock traffic in Sloatsburg to snake to a complete stop as first responders attended the scene. Bryant and occupants from the other two vehicles were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, according to Lieberman’s report, with Bryant still hospitalized as of Friday. The other occupants were treated for minor injuries and released.

With the Sloatsburg Fire Department, Suffern Police Department, Rockland Paramedics, and Sloatsburg Ambulance Corps all on the scene, Rt. 17 was closed for nearly an hour while the wrecked vehicles were removed. Local traffic was rerouted through the Academy and Ballard neighborhoods of Sloatsburg, exiting onto Seven Lakes Drive.

Bryant faces a stack of charges, some from previous incidents that include “leaving the scene of accidents in Suffern and Hillburn, according to LoHud, as well as the new Sloatsburg charges.