Bicyclist struck by wrong-way driver in Midtown; Driver in custody

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- A bicyclist was struck by a wrong way driver in Midtown on Sunday evening.

Police say officers were trying to pull the driver over on 34th Street and 9th Avenue, and that is when the driver stepped on the gas and headed Eastbound on 34th Street, then turned up 7th Avenue, hitting a bicyclist and narrowly missing a crowd of pedestrians.

Eyewitness News reporter CeFaan Kim was first on the scene:

"He could've hit a lot of people, because there were people all over the place," said one eyewitness.

The driver made it up two blocks on 7th Avenue, then hit oncoming traffic. Police were waiting for the driver, but they say he and a passenger in his car took off running. They were both later apprehended nearby.

Police say it all started at a parking garage on 34th and 9th in Hell's Kitchen. Diana Robinson made a call about a reckless driver. Robinson said people dove out of the way as the driver left the garage.

"It was about to hit our car that's parked inside the garage, and like just narrowly avoids it, slams the gas on as hard as it can, and plows through like a line of pedestrians right into the street," she added.

The driver was arrested, and charges are pending. His passenger is being held for questioning.

The 32-year-old cyclist was rushed to Bellevue Hospital. He is in serious, but stable condition.