NYPD: Driver hits 10 people while fleeing police on East Side, suspect in custody
NEW YORK -- Police say the driver of a stolen car was taken into custody after hitting 10 people in Manhattan on Tuesday evening.
It happened during rush hour on Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street.
It started when officers were following the stolen vehicle and the driver tried to flee. As he did, he struck the pedestrians, including a 6-year-old and two cars along the way, police said.
Police say a license plate reader tipped officers to the stolen maroon Hyundai at 45th Street and Second Avenue at around 5:30 p.m., and they followed that vehicle at a low rate of speed because of the heavy traffic.
The driver of the stolen car then hit a bicyclist on Lexington Avenue, somewhere between 42nd and 43rd streets and then hit a yellow cab closer to the intersection of 42nd before making a U-turn in the middle of the intersection at Lexington and 42nd and hitting a black livery cab driver, along with pedestrians.
"He pulled the gas and passed the bus and hit the yellow cab," witness Carlos Cabrera said. "And then from the yellow cab, when he hit him, he went on the sidewalk and he hit the people on the street."
Witnesses watched as good Samaritans caught up with the driver, who was later arrested. Police said the driver is 20 years old and doesn't have a New York State driver's license. His charges are pending.
Officials said the people injured ranged in age from 6 to 72. Eight of them were transported to Bellevue Medical Center and two refused medical attention. Some of the injuries were ankle-related and abrasions, but all are non-life threatening.
