Stolen Vehicle Leads To Multiple Pedestrian Injuries As Driver Crashes Near Grand Central
Ten people were injured on August 1 when 20 year-old Kyle Fernandez went on a destructive car chase through Midtown in a stolen red Hyundai Tucson. He had hijacked the car in the Bronx on July 31, which police said they had picked up on a license plate reader near E. 43rd St. & Lexington Ave. around 5:30 p.m.
| 22 Aug 2023 | 04:25
Police tape being laid out at the scene of an August 1 crash on the corner of Lexington Ave. and E. 42nd St., after 20 year-old Kyle Fernandez led cops on a wild goose chase and ended up striking multiple pedestrians in a stolen Hyundai. (
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The driver of a stolen Hyundai Tucson hit multiple pedestrians after jumping the curb near Grand Central Terminal and crashing into another car on August 1, bringing to an end a hair-raising cop chase through Midtown. Cops said that the driver, identified as 20 year-old Kyle Fernandez, was arrested at the scene of the crash. A passenger, possibly a woman, fled and is still at large.
According to police, the incident kicked off after an automated scanner picked up the license plate of the stolen vehicle near E. 43rd St. & Lexington. After cops signaled they would pull Fernandez over, he gunned it southbound down Lexington Ave. before bowling over a bicyclist and striking a yellow Nissan cab. He didn’t stop there, however.
Allegedly mounting the curb at the intersection of E. 42nd St. & Lexington Ave., Fernandez performed a high-speed U-turn and reportedly hit five civilians on the crosswalk in the process. He continued driving–traveling north against the flow of southbound traffic–before slamming into a Toyota RAV4.
Cops said that ten victims were removed to various hospitals due to the carnage, with eight reportedly ending up at Bellevue. All are said to be in stable condition as of press time.
Fernandez has been charged with a wealth of crimes, which include: 12 counts of reckless endangerment, 12 counts of leaving the scene of an accident, 2 counts of fleeing from an officer in a motor vehicle, criminal possession of stolen property, and resisting arrest. He was also charged for being intoxicated while driving as well as not possessing a license.
The chase eerily mirrored one that ended less than an hour earlier, when a man identified by police as Ansel Goolcharan crashed a minivan with stolen plates on E. 23rd St. after he had reportedly refused to pull over for a traffic stop in Chinatown. Goolcharan allegedly struck a 66 year-old woman on the sidewalk close to the corner of Elizabeth & Broome St., who was reportedly treated for an arm fracture at Bellevue hospital and released.