The New York Police Department (NYPD) said they pursued a taxi driver in rush-hour traffic in the Queens Midtown Tunnel on Thursday as he was driving three women to a medical appointment in Manhattan.
The driver of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 33-year-old man from the Bronx, fled the traffic stop on the Queens side of the tunnel, driving over a line of traffic cones and scattering officers, the NYPD said in a statement. video Authorities said the SUV then disappeared into the tunnel with police vehicles pursuing it.
The pursuit ended one minute and 50 seconds later when two police vehicles surrounded the SUV, according to the NYPD, a moment that can be seen on video.
The driver allegedly resisted arrest, and one NYPD officer and one Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officer were injured, according to the statement.
Three Hudson Valley women – sisters ages 65 and 67 and the older woman's 45-year-old daughter – also suffered minor injuries, police said. The women were “crying” after the traffic stop and “visibly shaken” while speaking with police in another vehicle, according to a police statement.
The woman and two officers were taken to hospital for treatment. (RELATED: Dramatic video captures officer's daring pit stop maneuver that ended a two-hour high-speed chase)
Three Hudson Valley women experienced the scare of their lives on Wednesday when a cab driver heading to a Manhattan hospital appointment found himself pursued by police in a Queens Midtown Tunnel at the height of the morning rush hour.
a… pic.twitter.com/V79RcpB1OJ
— NYPD News (@NYPDnews) September 6, 2024
The women told police they had arranged rides through a medical transport company to get to a medical appointment, according to the statement.
The NYPD alleged that the driver was driving with a “seven-time suspended license” and that the vehicle had “fake paper license plates” and a “vehicle identification number that did not belong to the same SUV.” Authorities say the women were unaware of these alleged crimes.
Authorities allege the SUV had two suspended registrations for parking and unpaid tolls, its inspection sticker and insurance had expired and its windshield and windows were too darkly tinted.
The driver was also wanted by the New York Police Department on suspicion of domestic violence in the Bronx in August, according to the department.
The New York Police Department called the suspect driver's actions “dangerous conduct.”
The suspect faces numerous charges, including assault on a police officer and false imprisonment, according to the statement.
The operation was part of a multi-agency operation against “ghost vehicles” and their alleged drivers.
