Wild video shows driver plowing through outdoor dining structure in NYC; 1 officer injured
In one portion of the video, the driver is seen missing a woman with a walker by mere inches.
NEW YORK -- A New York City police officer was injured while chasing down a driver who repeatedly avoided a traffic stop in Manhattan Wednesday and it was all caught on video.
According to police, officers attempted to pull over a black Cadillac just before 5 p.m. That's when the driver fled the traffic stop, but this was just the first time they tried to flee.
In exclusive video obtained by ABC7's sister station in New York, you can see the car take out a fire hydrant on a street. The Cadillac then misses a woman with a walker by mere inches.
"The car kept speeding down the street," said Jan Baldin, the woman in the video. "I was crossing from this side to that side. The car, I had the light. His wheel hit me down here and the bumper came flying off."
The black Cadillac was then located and officers once again tried to stop the vehicle.
When the driver fled the scene, they struck an officer and drove through an outdoor dining structure.
"I heard a large rumble, maybe similar to like a tornado coming through," a witness said.
Gustavo Marquez captured video of the crash and shared it on Instagram.
"I just see the car going back and forth, hitting every car," he said. "That's the moment I got my phone out, and I just see this car going straight for the sidewalk and not giving anything. Just went for it and didn't stop."
Moments before Marquez started recording, witnesses say the suspect was ramming into officers, driving forward and then in reverse. The vehicle fled for a third time and collided with another vehicle. The driver then abandoned their vehicle and fled the scene on foot.
"He came out of the car after the airbag went off and ran and escaped," said another witness.
The officer sustained an injury to the head and was rushed to a local hospital. He is expected to survive. It is still unclear why officers tried to pull over the driver in the Cadillac in the first place.
There have been no arrests, and the investigation is ongoing.
