9 people injured as fleeing driver careens down streets outside Madison Square Garden after New Year's Eve celebrations
- The pursuit of a 44-year-old male left nine injured on New Year's Day, per a NYPD spokesperson.
- The driver fled police "at a high rate of speed westbound onto the sidewalk."
Multiple people were injured and transported to a hospital early New Year's Day in New York City after a 44-year-old motorist drove on the sidewalk and struck vehicles while fleeing police near Madison Square Garden.
An NYPD spokesperson told Business Insider that at approximately 1:34 a.m. on Monday, officers responded to reports of a possible crime at the intersection of West 33rd Street and 7th Avenue, just blocks away from New York City's massive New Year's Eve celebration centered in Times Square.
"While conducting the investigation, officers attempted to intervene in a dispute that occurred in a vehicle," the spokesperson added. "The 44-year-old male individual then struck multiple vehicles before fleeing at a high rate of speed westbound onto the sidewalk of 34th Street."
The spokesperson said that a 39-year-old female was "pinned underneath" a food truck that the 44-year-old had hit. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
The driver was apprehended at 34th Street and 9th Avenue, the spokesperson said, and is in "critical but stable condition." The NYPD did not release the name of the driver.
Six more pedestrians injured in the chase had to be taken to Bellevue Hospital, but all were in stable condition, the spokesperson said. An officer was also "transported to NYU Langone Medical Center for minor injuries in stable condition."
The spokesperson said the investigation remains ongoing.