What to Know
- A man stole a marked police car from the 50th Precinct parking lot in the Bronx Sunday morning
- The car had keys in the ignition prior to the theft
- The suspect crashed into four unoccupied vehicles before fleeing the scene in a Lincoln Town Car
A man stole an NYPD cruiser from a precinct parking lot and crashed into four parked vehicles in the Bronx on Sunday morning, police said.
The suspect stole the marked police cruiser from the 50th precinct parking lot near West 236th Street and Kingsbridge Avenue in University Heights. The car keys had been left in the ignition and the man hopped in around 6:20 a.m. Sunday and took off.
He subsequently crashed the cruiser into four empty parked vehicles near Fordham Road and Sedgwick Avenue.
"When I saw it was a police car, I said, 'Oh my God, are they okay?' But then when no cops came out and the guy did, I said, 'Oh my God, did this guy steal a car?'" Deitra Guerrant said.
The cruiser was still smashed up against the other cars as dawn broke Sunday. The front of a green Jeep was completely smashed and the vehicle was tilted upright in the air. The driver's side of a red SUV was crushed nearby.
"You could just see glass everywhere, car doors open, the hood of the car just messed up," one man said.
Local
Authorities said there were no injuries as a result of the crash.
Juan Martinez said he was at work when he got a call from his wife. She said his car had been smashed.
"I went over here and I find my car not working anymore," Martinez said.
Neighbors snapped photos from their windows above the scene and posted them to social media.
The suspect was last seen entering a black Lincoln Town Car as he fled the area Sunday morning.
Police released a surveillance photo of a suspect and asked anyone with information to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
