A drunken driver trying to evade police in midtown seriously injured a bicyclist after turning the wrong way onto Seventh Avenue Sunday evening, police said.
Raheem Addison, who was driving a black sedan, struck the bicyclist on Seventh Avenue and 34th Street just before 7:30 p.m. when he turned north onto Seventh Avenue instead of south, police said. Addison, 28, had a blood-alcohol level that was over twice the legal limit, and he was driving with a suspended license, cops said.
The victim, a 32-year-old man, was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center in serious but stable condition.
Maggie Garcia, who works at Al’s Deli on Seventh Avenue and 35th Street, said she saw the man on the ground after the car struck him.
“The bicycle was all twisted,” she said.
Shortly before the crash, police had been called to a parking garage on West 34th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues for a report of a reckless and emotionally disturbed driver, an NYPD spokesman said.
When officers tried to stop Addison on 34th Street near Eighth Avenue, police said he sped off, making the wrong turn onto Seventh Avenue.
Addison, however, didn’t stop after striking the bicyclist. He continued up Seventh Avenue for two blocks, then made a U-turn and before ditching his car near 35th Street, police said. Video surveillance caught footage of the car going against traffic on the busy avenue.
Addison, of Bushwick, was taken into custody after a short foot pursuit. He was charged with driving under the influence, driving without a license, vehicular assault and leaving the scene of an accident, police said.
Addison has 21 prior arrests, cops said.
