NEW YORK, NY – Ten people were injured, including two critically, when a New York City police car engaged in a pursuit with a stolen vehicle struck another vehicle and lost control. That contact sent the police vehicle into a crowd of people at the corner of Westchester and Hoe Avenues in the Foxhurst section of the Bronx.
A five-year-old and a two-year-old child were also injured in the crash.
NYPD Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddrey said the police vehicle was occupied by two New York City police officers corresponding to the report of a stolen car prior to the crash. Maddrey said the police officer driving the vehicle lost control after striking another vehicle before careening into the corner, striking multiple people at the intersection.
Video of the incident from a nearby surveillance video shows the police vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed before clipping the other car and driving through the intersection.
“We don’t want to see anybody injured, especially when the officers were trying to do the right thing,” Maddrey said. “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.”
Maddrey noted that the crash allowed the suspects to get away in the stolen vehicle.
The New York City Police Department did not provide an update on the status of the injured pedestrians.