A man driving a stolen vehicle led police on a high-speed chase through Manhattan on Tuesday, resulting in injuries to ten individuals, including two children. The pursuit came to a climactic end when local New Yorkers heroically apprehended the fleeing suspect.
Authorities tried to intercept the red Hyundai SUV, reported stolen from Illinois, at Third Avenue and 43rd Street. However, the suspect defied the flashing lights of the police car, initiating the chaotic chase. The suspect navigated the dense traffic at breakneck speeds, recklessly striking vehicles and pedestrians in his path.
“It was crazy, it was horrific,” recalled Michael Discioarro, an eyewitness to the incident. The SUV caused havoc on Lexington Avenue, colliding with other cars and mounting the sidewalk, before driving head-on into a black sedan.
This crash ended the vehicular pursuit, but the suspect attempted to flee on foot. Onlookers successfully detained him until the arrival of the police.
The suspect, reportedly a 20-year-old male with a history of arrests including gun charges and narcotics, was driving an SUV reported stolen in the Bronx. A second suspect, a female, managed to evade capture and is still at large. Police also found a zip-lock baggie containing what appeared to be marijuana, as well as other drug paraphernalia, in the vehicle.
The New York Fire Department reported none of the injuries to be life-threatening. Amidst the chaos, bystanders promptly offered assistance to the injured until first responders arrived.
Witnessing such a bloody trail, Discioarro, an attorney, recounted, “One victim on the ground was seriously injured. A lot of blood. Another victim was laid up against the door of a store…Her leg was twisted in a way you shouldn’t twist a leg.”
