Daniel Hanser said he was slightly lost when he ran a red light Friday night and clipped a COTA bus and then hit a Columbus police vehicle.

"One more and, what, I get a bingo or something?" Hanser, 32, of Miami said after the crash just before 9 p.m. Downtown. "This is ridiculous."

What the Florida man did get was a ticket for running the red light, he said.

Hanser said he was just out to grab a quick bite to eat on the rainy night when he was traveling southbound on North Third Street at East Mound Street. His rented black Camry first hit a COTA bus, ripping off the bike rack attached to the front of the bus traveling westbound on East Mound Street. The Camry dragged the bike rack along before hitting the police vehicle, also on East Mound, police said.

Two police officers were in the vehicle when it was struck, but Columbus police Lt. Howard Pettengill said no injuries had been reported. The bus was not carrying passengers, a COTA employee at the scene said. Visible damage was caused to the front left of the police vehicle, as well as to the front of Hanser's rental car.

"I'm really glad nobody got hurt," Hanser said.

Several people at the scene told police the traffic lights were green for traffic on East Mound as the Camry hit the front of the bus, Pettengill said.

Hanser, who works at a small law firm in Florida, said he was in town to visit Capital University as a prospective student. He said this was his first vehicle collision.

"Police were really nice, though," he said.

As Hanser's rental car was being lifted onto a tow truck, he said he would probably just walk back to his hotel, stay in, and order a pizza.

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mhuson@dispatch.com

@Mike_Huson