Kerry Burke
New York Daily News
(TNS)
A driver fleeing police in a stolen car injured 10 people after he careened across a busy Manhattan sidewalk during the Tuesday evening rush hour just outside Grand Central Terminal, according to the NYPD.
Patrol cops targeted the Hyundai Tucson around 5:30 p.m. at E. 45th St. and Second Ave. when they got a hit on their squad car’s license plate readers alerting them that the SUV had been reported stolen in the Bronx on Monday, police said.
When the officers initially tried to stop him at Third Ave. and E. 43rd St., the driver, Kyle Fernandez, 21, of Manhattan, took off, Assistant Chief James Kehoe of Patrol Borough Manhattan South.
“Initially the vehicle started to pull over, and the officers continued to follow at a low rate of speed because of the heavy traffic. The motorist made his way back onto Lexington Ave.,” Kehoe said.
A witness said cops were chasing the car at high speed.
“The red car was coming, and the cops were right behind him with their lights and sirens going,” said local worker Carlos Cabrera, 54.
The carnage began when the driver struck a bicyclist on Lexington Ave. between E. 42nd and 43rd Sts.
The Manhattan resident said Fernandez, who has two prior arrests for drugs and illegal guns, drove through the crosswalk and slammed into a group of five or more pedestrians before hitting a taxi.
“He cut to the left and he passed the bus and hit the yellow cab.”
“Then he kept going. He got hit by a car coming down 42nd St., and he spun,” Cabrera added. “And then he hit the black Uber.”
Cabera said at least two of the people hit were badly injured.
“Two of the women were hurt the most, one was unconscious on the ground and the other woman had her leg turned around the wrong way.”
The FDNY said that eight people were taken to Bellevue Hospital and two people with minor injuries refused medical attention.
Cabrera said the driver was nabbed soon after he left the Hyundai.
“He got out of the car and tried to run. More police came, and they were on top of him. After he got arrested he didn’t care about what he did.”
Police sources said Fernandez seemed heavily intoxicated and was taken to the 7th Precinct to be processed. He was taken into custody and charges were pending on Tuesday night.
The smashup came on the heels of an earlier police pursuit about 2 miles south that started in Chinatown around 4:45 p.m. and ended with a crash on E. 23rd St. and Third Ave. about 20 minutes later.
One witness told The News they saw a woman hit by the driver as he plowed his way across a Lower East Side sidewalk with cops hot on his heels.
Cops said they had no information about anyone injured during that pursuit and would only say that a driver took off on officers attempting to conduct a traffic stop at Delancey and Chrystie Sts. and that they “reengaged” the vehicle later on 23rd St.
“The cops were chasing him. The van went up on the sidewalk, and took out the tables. The girl was walking by, and he hit her. She flew about 10 feet. Her head was bleeding, and her arm was broken. And then he kept going,” said Andres, a cook at the eatery who did not want to give his last name.
The Manhattan resident said the driver careened onto the sidewalk and slammed into a group of five or more pedestrians.
“He cut to the left and he passed the bus and hit the yellow cab. He went up on the sidewalk and hit a group of people.”
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