A man who allegedly plowed into 10 people and several cars Tuesday with a stolen vehicle on a busy New York City street during a police chase was tackled by good Samaritans while trying to run from the chaotic scene.
Kyle Fernandez, 20, was fleeing police officers in Manhattan while driving a 2018 Hyundai Tucson SUV with Illinois license plates at Third Avenue and 43rd Street, near Grand Central Station, around 5:30 p.m., the New York Police Department said. Officers with an automated license plate reader were alerted them to a stolen vehicle in the area.
The SUV was reported stolen from the Bronx on Monday, authorities said. Fernandez initially “started to pull over” when the officers attempted to perform a traffic stop, Patrol Borough Manhattan South Deputy Chief James Kehoe said at the scene.
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A group of pedestrians tackle Kyle Fernandez after he allegedly fled from a stolen vehicle in which he used to hit 10 people on a busy Manhattan street during a police chase. (Alan Zengo via Storyful)
Instead of coming to a stop, Fernandez fled and struck a bicyclist and a taxi, police said. He then went onto a sidewalk and hit several pedestrians, including two children, before driving down the opposite direction on Lexington Avenue, police said.
The vehicle was stopped after colliding with a 2021 Toyota RAV4. Fernandez bolted out of the car and tried fleeing on foot, authorities said.
He didn’t make it far. Several pedestrians tackled him and brought him down to the ground, according to video footage of the incident. They detained him until police arrived.
“When the cops showed up, the guy they took into custody was trying to fight with the cops — trying to push the cops away,” Michael Discioarro, who witnessed some of what happened, told the New York Post.
The injured pedestrians were taken to hospitals in stable condition, police said.
A female who was a passenger in the stolen SUV fled the scene on foot and is being sought by police. Authorities initially said Fernandez doesn’t have a New York license.
Law enforcement sources told the Post he has several prior arrests, including two gun charges and a history of drugs. He faces multiple charges from Tuesday’s incident, including 12 counts of reckless endangerment, criminal possession of stolen property, operating a motor vehicle while with drugs and resisting arrest.
