More than two hours elapsed between a pair of breath tests administered to an MTA bus driver charged with drunkenly ramming a row of cars while carrying nine passengers through Brooklyn, The Post has learned.
Despite the wait, Lenny Lachman, 24, was still more than three times over the threshold for driving while intoxicated, law-enforcement sources said.
Cops who field-tested Lachman’s breath at the scene of the crash recorded a reading of 0.329 percent blood-alcohol content shortly after the incident in Flatlands around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, sources said.
Lachman was given another test about 2-1/2 hours later at the 78th Precinct, where the reading dropped to 0.257 percent, sources said.
That number is the one mentioned in the criminal complaint filed against him in Brooklyn Criminal court, where he was charged with four counts of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an incident.
State law sets the threshold for driving while intoxicated at 0.08 percent, and 0.04 percent for commercial drivers.
Sources have said Lachman, who lives in Kew Gardens, Queens, was caught in possession of two bottles of Georgi vodka, one opened and the other unopened.
His second breath test took place at the 78th Precinct, in Park Slope, even though the crash occurred in the 63rd Precinct because the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad maintains a single device for administering official tests in each borough for quality-control purposes, sources said.
The units are regularly calibrated to ensure accuracy and all tests are videotaped, sources said.
It was unclear why it took so long to get Lachman to the 78th Precinct for the second test. The NYPD generally administers official tests within two hours of an incident, sources said.
Neither Lachman nor any of his passengers were injured.
He was suspended without pay by the MTA, and released without bail following his arraignment Sunday night.
Lachman wouldn’t answer questions Monday when he emerged from his home around 8:15 a.m. and left in a blue SUV driven by an older man who came out and started the vehicle about five minutes earlier.
The driver, who resembled Lachman, also declined to comment.
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