NYPD Catch Taxi Driver Who Led High-Speed Chase Into Tunnel With 'Distraught' Passengers Aboard

Three taxi passengers in New York City had the scare of their lives when their driver engaged police in a high-speed chase through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel on Wednesday, September 4.

Footage released by the NYPD shows the moment the black Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by a 33-year-old Bronx man, swerved around the uniformed cop and led officers on a chase into the tunnel.

Officers from a multiagency task force specifically targeting “ghost vehicles” and their drivers flouting traffic laws on the Queens side of the tunnel had attempted to stop the Jeep before the chase.

Within two minutes, the fleeing Jeep was boxed in by police vehicles in the tunnel and the driver removed and handcuffed.

Three female passengers, aged 67, 65, and 45, were discovered crying and shaken in the back of the vehicle. Police said they had called the taxi through a medical transport company to go to an appointment in Manhattan.

The driver was later found to be driving on a license that was suspended seven times and was wanted by detectives in the Bronx for alleged domestic assault.

The Jeep was found to have a fraudulent paper license plate, two active registration suspensions for unpaid toll violations and parking judgments, expired insurance, and too-dark tinting.

On Thursday evening, the driver was awaiting arraignment in Queens, the NYPD said. Credit: NYPD via Storyful

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