Authorities said Friday that a wanted man picked up three women in his cab, posed as a hire-car driver, and nearly mowed down officers during a rush-hour chase through the Queens Midtown Tunnel.
Shocking footage shows officers surrounding a Jeep Grand Cherokee and blocking it in a crosswalk over the East River as the driver desperately tries to escape and the hostage inside cries hysterically.
The chase began just after 9 a.m. Wednesday when MTA Police Department officers attempted to pull over the driver on the Queens side of the tunnel as part of an investigation into what officials say are “ghost vehicles,” or vehicles with false registrations.
Instead, the 33-year-old driver slammed on the brakes, dodged six uniformed police officers standing in his lane and drove through a tunnel entrance, just hours before a major leak occurred at the crossing.
“The Jeep drove over a row of traffic cones, forcing other special agents on the enforcement task force to move out of the path of an oncoming SUV,” MTA police said in a statement.
Footage from a police vehicle's dashcam showed several officers chasing the driver, weaving around other commuters caught up in the mayhem.
The patrol car caught up with the fleeing SUV just seconds after another officer stopped the driver in the left lane.
The driver tried to go around the car, but two police cars moved quickly and blocked his jeep.
It took just a minute and 50 seconds to arrest the driver, but the escape attempt didn't end there: The Bronx man “struggled and flared his arms to avoid being handcuffed” before he was eventually pulled from his seat, authorities said.
There were three distressed-looking passengers in the back seat: two sisters, ages 65 and 67, from Westchester County, and their sister's 45-year-old daughter.
They were all “crying hysterically,” authorities said in a statement.
“A few minutes later, still shaking inside the NYPD van, the women told officers they had called a medical transportation company that morning to arrange transportation to Midtown Manhattan for a medical appointment,” MTA police said.
The driver, whose name police did not release, had had his license suspended seven times and was wanted by NYPD detectives in the Bronx for an alleged domestic violence offense last month, police said.
The Jeep itself was not even roadworthy, as it was running with ghost plates, a fake VIN, expired inspections and registrations, and a host of other conditions.
The three women suffered minor injuries during the pursuit and were treated at a Westchester hospital.
An NYPD officer and a subway station officer also suffered minor injuries during the struggle to restrain the driver and were later treated and released from hospital.
The driver is currently facing numerous traffic-related charges, including assault on a police officer, false imprisonment, reckless engagement and failure to obey a traffic sign.
The police chase wasn't the only drama on the Queens side of the tunnel on Wednesday: Hours later, excavators accidentally blew a hole in the roof, causing water to flood in and terrifying drivers.
Around 12:30 p.m., a hole opened in a water pipe on the south side of Queens, causing a leak, causing a large amount of water to flow onto passing cars.
The hole was sealed within 45 minutes.
