8 Injured After Stolen Hummer Crashes Into Bus, Cab And Barbecue Joint On 23rd Street
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It was a wild afternoon in Manhattan Tuesday after a man tried to steal a Hummer.
A woman was picking up the vehicle at a garage in Chelsea, WCBS 880's Monica Miller reported. While she was waiting for the attendant, a man jumped in the vehicle and drove off.
The suspect, a 19-year-old, drove off in the Hummer as the attendant clung to the side of the vehicle, police said.
"I can see how it happened because it was running there, all the vehicles were running, so somebody could just jump in and drive off," witness Steve Singh said.
The Hummer was stolen from a parking garage at 28th Street between 5th and Broadway, near where President Barack Obama was to appear at a $40,000-per-person fundraiser later Tuesday night, CBS 2's Derricke Dennis reported.
The driver apparently started down the wrong way on 6th Avenue before swerving on to 23rd Street. Once there, he struck a bus, cab and smashed into a barbecue restaurant, injuring a worker.
"They chased him a couple of blocks, six or seven blocks and this is where it ended up," restaurant owner Andrew Fischel told Dennis. "He drove through the window, smashed the counter and she was behind the counter."
Eight people were injured, including the bus driver and the person who took the Hummer. Four of those struck were in serious condition, police said. The man who was pulled out of the Hummer by the police was arrested and taken away on a stretcher.
"I heard this tremendous noise and it was tires screeching, something I've never heard before. I jumped up to look out the window saw the Hummer go right into the building. It was was like BAM! and then there were like hundreds of cops," witness Val Geisler said.
The owner of the barbecue restaurant that the Hummer slammed into said he's now out of business until his front end gets repaired. He said it could take a few weeks.
Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below ...
