Driver killed in crash identified as suspect in kidnapping, sexual assault of girl in Queens Village
QUEENS VILLAGE, Queens (WABC) -- The suspect accused of kidnapping a 9-year-old girl at a grocery store in Queens before sexually assaulting her was killed in a violent crash after attempting to evade police on Friday, according to NYPD officials.
Police were attempting to pull over a vehicle after identifying it as being linked to the Thursday kidnapping of a 9-year-old girl from a Key Foods grocery store in Queens Village.
Police say the driver refused to pull over, sped off and then crashed into an SUV.
Witnesses at the corner heard the loud crash.
"The cops were telling the guy show me your hands', show me your hands' and they tried to pull him out," one witness said.
Surveillance video captured the silver Honda Civic flying through an intersection in Queens Village, colliding with the SUV. Police weren't far behind and seconds later appeared running towards the car.
The driver, identified by police as 64-year-old Queens resident Wayne Noel, was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said he was the suspect they were looking for in connection to the kidnapping and sexual assault.
NYPD officials said during a press conference Friday evening that Noel had four prior arrests, the most recent stemming from a robbery in 2022, in the same vehicle he used Thursday night.
One person in the SUV that the suspect crashed into suffered non-life-threatening injures. No pedestrians were struck.
The shocking crash comes less than 24 hours after the 9-year-old victim was kidnapped from the Key Foods store on Jamaica Avenue.
Officials say the girl was with her grandmother when they entered the store after 7 p.m. The grandmother left the girl briefly to use the bathroom, and that's when officials say the suspect, who they believe was in the store already, approached the girl and told her "get in front of me." He then grabbed her hair and forcefully took her outside the store.
They say the suspect then pushed her inside his vehicle, drove to a nearby area and sexually assaulted the victim. The assault was interrupted by a good Samaritan who was passing by, leading the suspect to drive away and park again near the Key Food store.
"As a response, the subject cowardly drives away and parks once again in close proximity, right back again in that Key Food store area, and once again sexually assaults our survivor," said NYPD Assistant Chief Jason Savino.
Officials say the man left the victim on the street after the second assault and fled the scene in his vehicle, described as a four-door brown Honda Civic.
The young girl's grandmother reported her missing, sparking a frantic search for the girl. The girl was later found and taken to a local hospital to be examined. Police say the 9-year-old sex assault survivor is doing OK, but understandably will never be the same.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry said in a statement: "I am disgusted after hearing about the abduction/sexual assault of a minor in the confines of the 105th Precinct. This predator is the epitome of evil. It is almost unfathomable that such evil could take hold in a city we call home. The NYPD will not rest until this fiend is locked up behind iron bars. We are currently looking for the pictured individual. If you have any information please reach out ASAP-1-800-577-TIPS.
"Heinous crimes such as these must be swiftly brought to justice. We cannot have these acts happening in our community! To the perpetrator - Our elite detectives and skilled officers know your face and they are on the streets scouring for you. But it won't take long, because I know the community will not tolerate this and they will identify you and out you... We will give this little girl justice."
Prior to the deadly crash, police released a photo of the man with a heavy build wearing a blue MTA hat, clear glasses, pink shirt, and blue jeans. They later put out a wanted poster that they believed showed the suspect's vehicle.
The MTA said that Noel worked for an MTA contractor, but never entered MTA property, nor did any MTA business.
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