10 Injured In Grand Central Mayhem By Driver Of Stolen Car: NYPD

MIDTOWN, NY — A 20-year-old driver in a stolen car injured 10 people near Grand Central Terminal on Tuesday evening after fleeing from a police stop, officials said.

At about 5:30 p.m., officers inside a patrol car equipped with license plate readers near East 45th Street and Second Avenue detected a 2018 Hyundai Tucson that was reported stolen from the Bronx just a day earlier, according to Patrol Borough Manhattan South Deputy Chief James Kehoe at a press conference late Tuesday.

After verifying the vehicle's provenance, Kehoe said, officers turned on their patrol car's flashing lights at 43rd Street and Third Avenue to pull the car over.

At first the maroon SUV appeared to pull over, but then suddenly made its way through thick traffic to Lexington Avenue, where the high-speed mayhem began, Kehoe recounted.

The driver first hit a bicyclist, then a Nissan yellow cab, then mounted the sidewalk where he hit several pedestrians as he made a u-turn at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, said Kehoe.

The man then drove the wrong way up Lexington Avenue until a collision with another SUV brought it to a stop, police said.

When the driver tried to flee, dutiful New Yorkers on the street detained the 20-year-old man until police arrived, officials said.

The driver lacked a New York State license, Kehoe said. There is no believed connection to terrorism, he said.

In total, the mayhem left 10 people injured, said FDNY Deputy Chief Mario Thompkins, who added that all of the injuries were non-critical.

Luckily the most severe injury, he said, was an ankle fracture to a young woman.

Police officials have yet to release the name of the driver and said on Wednesday morning that he is still awaiting charges.