For-hire driver arrested in Queens-Midtown Tunnel with scared passengers inside
NEW YORK (WABC) -- A tense police chase involving a for-hire driver with three passengers inside his car was caught on video through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.
It happened Wednesday around 9 a.m. during the morning rush hour.
Police were trying to pull over the 33-year-old driver of the Jeep Grand Cherokee as part of an investigation targeting ghost vehicles.
Instead of stopping, officers say the driver swerved around a uniformed cop standing in a traffic lane at the mouth of the East River crossing.
The driver then drove over a line of traffic cones and forced other officers to duck for cover from the path of the oncoming SUV.
Police officers chased the suspect as he took off into the tunnel.
It wasn't until nearly two minutes later when they were halfway through the tunnel that police officers boxed him in, removed him from his seat and arrested him.
The three women inside the vehicle -- sisters, ages 65 and 67, from Westchester County, and the elder woman's daughter, 45, who lives in Putnam County -- were hysterically crying when police opened the back doors.
Although they were shaken, the women are otherwise OK. They told police they called a medical transport company that morning to arrange a ride to Midtown Manhattan for a doctor's appointment.
One NYPD officer and one MTA officer also suffered minor injuries during the struggle to take the driver into custody. They have since been treated and released from the hospital.
Police say along with the ghost plates, a fake VIN and expired inspection and registration, the driver was also wanted for a domestic assault. They say the driver's license had also been suspended seven times.
The driver's identity has not yet been released.
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