A 20-year-old man who allegedly stole a car and mowed down pedestrians in Midtown on Tuesday has been hit with a slew of charges—including driving while high.
Kyle Fernandez, the driver, is facing a laundry list of charges after allegedly stealing a Hyundai Tucson over the weekend before driving into pedestrians on East 45th Street on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Police did not say exactly what substance Fernandez had reportedly taken prior to the crash, although sources close to the investigation reported that a bag appearing to contain marijuana was found in the vehicle.
Ten people were injured in the chaos, including two children and two seniors, when Fernandez allegedly fled from police in Midtown while cops were trying to apprehend him for the stolen vehicle.
According to Patrol Borough Manhattan South Deputy Chief James Kehoe who spoke at a press conference after the incident unfolded, police spotted the stolen vehicle at around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday with out-of-state plates on 45th Street and 2nd Avenue after it had been stolen from the Bronx.
Kehoe said Fernandez at first appeared to pull over before continuing on to Lexington Avenue where between 42nd and 43rd Streets he hit a cyclist and then collided with a yellow cab. The chaos didn’t end there, however. Fernandez then hopped the curb in the vehicle, police said, before mowing down several pedestrians in the process. He then made a U-turn, drove the wrong way on Lexington Avenue before the mayhem concluded after he rammed into a black Toyota. A child as young as 6 and an adult as old as 72 were injured.
Video from the incident showed Fernandez desperately attempting to flee the scene on foot before being tackled to the ground by several good Samaritans outside Grand Central Station. A female passenger, however, was able to make a getaway by running away from the scene, police said.
Fernandez has previous arrests on gun and drug charges, according to police.
He was led out of the 17th Precinct in cuffs by police officers on Wednesday night after having been hit with multiple charges.
Fernandez is charged with 12 counts of reckless endangerment, 12 counts of leaving the scene of the accident, 2 counts of fleeing from an officer in a motor vehicle, criminal possession of stolen property, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, operating a motor vehicle without a license, 2 counts of failing to obey a police officer, and driving a motor vehicle on the sidewalk.
