New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog10 people injured including 2 children after NYPD cruiser jumps the curb in the Bronx, NYC
A police officer driving a NYPD car and responding to a call for a stolen car lost control of his vehicle, jumped the curb and slammed his the cruiser into multiple pedestrians that were on the sidewalk. Among them were a mother, her 5 year old daughter and the grand-mother who were on their way to the grocery store.
The crash occurred Thursday afternoon around 3:pm in the Longwood section of the Bronx at the intersection of Westchester Avenue and Hoe Avenue. A surveillance video shows the NYPD cruiser travelling at a high rate of speed, crossing the yellow line and driving against traffic. As the NYPD cruiser approached the intersection, a civilian car started to make a left turn. The cruiser clipped the front of the car and careened toward the sidewalk. It then jumped the curb and hit 4 pedestrians and a traffic pole that fell onto two other pedestrians. Among the 4 pedestrians that were directly struck by the NYPD cruiser were the 5 year old daughter, mother and grand mother and another man. Additionnally 2 people in the car that was about to make a left turn were injured and one of them was a 2 year old child. The two police officers in the cruiser also suffered injury. A total of 10 people were transported to the hospital. According to the NYPD 4 of them suffered life-threatening injuries including the 5 year-old child and the man who was ran over by the cruiser.
Read more in the NY Daily News
This is what the NYPD – Patrol Guide mentions about vehicle pursuit:
Department policy requires that a vehicle pursuit be terminated whenever the risks to uniformed members of the service and the public outweigh the danger to the community if suspect is not immediately apprehended. If chase is terminated, members will attempt to obtain sufficient information to effect apprehension.
