If you’ve ever wondered why cops shouldn’t pursue car chases, this is why: A driver decided to ring in the new year with an argument that led to a police chase that ended with eight people being injured in midtown Manhattan, according to ABC News.
It all started when the 44-year-old suspect was arguing with his 34-year-old girlfriend inside his black Mercedes-Benz C-Class at the corner of West 33rd St. and 7th Avenue in New York City, the New York Post reports. Cops were investigating an unrelated issue in the area at around 1:30 a.m. on January 1 when they were flagged down by bystanders, and they attempted to intervene in the argument.
Police told ABC News the suspect then fled police and drove north on 7th Avenue. For those keeping score at home, this is the wrong direction to drive on 7th. He ended up hitting multiple vehicles before turning westbound onto the sidewalk of West 34th Street — somewhere a car should not be.
During the “blocks-long driving spree,” as ABC News puts it, police said the driver hit a halal cart that pinned a 39-year-old woman pedestrian underneath it. He also hit at least six other pedestrians who were all taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. One police officer was transported to NYU Langone Medical Center for minor injuries, and they are in stable condition. Finally, the driver was transported to Bellevue in critical but stable condition.
The area of the crashes and chase was apparently full of pedestrians and cops who had been in or near Times Square for the New Year’s Eve ball drop.
“I was scared. Everybody was scared. [The suspect] could have killed me and other people on the street. He could have killed the police officers,” Sheik Milon, a cab driver who said his vehicle was hit during the incident, told the New York Post. “He didn’t care about anyone so he could have hit us and killed us.”
Milon spoke further on what happened with The Post:
“After the car hit my car the driver tried to go up 34th Street but he could not because the traffic was bad — so many cars. He tried to make a U-turn. He tried to go away but he could not.”
The cabbie claimed the suspect was trying to hit police, and estimated 50 to 100 officers were in the vicinity.
“He tried to hit the cops. He did not care,” Milon stated. “An Uber car was in front of me. He hit the Uber and then he hit me again for the third time.
“He didn’t want to get out of the car. They tried to get him out several times but he wouldn’t come out,” he continued.
“The cops were shouting, ‘Stop the car! Stop the car! Get out of the car!’ It wasn’t easy. I believe he just wanted to hit them.
“After he hit the Uber and me, he could not go anywhere, he could not move. Then the cops pulled him out.”
According to police, the driver was alone in his vehicle when he was apprehended, so right now it’s not exactly clear where the woman in the car got out. She was hospitalized with minor injuries.
The New Jersey man — who has not been officially identified — has 10 prior arrests for things including drugs and criminal possession of stolen property.