Speeding NYPD cruiser chasing stolen vehicle plows through Bronx crowd, child among 10 injured
BRONX, NEW YORK: A speeding NYPD cruiser chasing stolen vehicle rammed into a group of pedestrians at a Bronx crossroads, resulting in 10 people being hurt, leaving three of them in critical condition. The accident occurred at the intersection of Hoe Avenue and Westchester Avenue at 3 pm on October 6. All 10 injured people, including two police officers, were transferred to Lincoln Hospital and Jacobi Memorial Center for medical attention. It's unknown if the two police officers who were brought to the hospital were in the car that collided but one of the reported victims is a 5-year-old kid.
As reported by Daily Mail, Jeffrey B Maddrey, the NYPD's chief of the patrol said, “Of course, we don’t want to see anybody injured, especially when the officers were trying to do the right thing.” He went on to say, “They were trying to prevent a crime in progress, they were trying to apprehend someone who was ready to victimize a good person in the Bronx.” Chief Maddrey added, “They were trying to prevent that crime, but unfortunately the accident allowed that person to steal the vehicle. We didn’t even catch the person we were trying to get. Once the accident occurred, our officers had to get into life-saving mode and make sure that all our civilians are OK.” The New York Daily News claimed that the policemen's wounds are not serious. The collision happened as they were responding to a report of car theft in progress as the cruiser's lights were flashing and its sirens were blaring.
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According to NBC New York, the gray Acura sedan that cut off the two police officers in the car as they were speeding to a call for a larceny incident caused the driver to swerve and hit people on Hoe Avenue and Westchester Avenue next to an assisted living facility on the curb. While the youngest casualty was five years old, the oldest injured individual was 65. One of the other victims was an older man who was recognized in the neighborhood for wearing red clothing, according to a witness named Nelson Quinones, 42. Quinones claimed to have seen a young girl being hit by the cruiser. “It was real crazy how the cops did that,” he said. More so, the automobile that cut off the officers included a two-year-old child.
The NYPD vehicle's front was damaged significantly after it collided with a pole. Another witness, Chuck Robinson, said as per Daily Mail, “The cop car was speeding. It hit a lady with a baby on the corner. She was pinned against the wall under the camera. Then it [the police vehicle] hit a lady with a walker and it took down a guy coming out of the building. There was another lady walking on the sidewalk also hit,” told Robinson. He also said, “The lady with the baby was down and they were doing chest compressions. The old guy was trying to get up, but he was covered in blood.”
