Watch Driver Try to Run Down NYC Police, Jump Curb in Dramatic Video

Shocking video of a driver attempting to run over New York City police during a traffic stop [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Shocking video of a driver attempting to run over New York City police during a traffic stop surfaced Sunday. Three officers were taken to the hospital after the incident.

The video, posted by Twitter account New York City Alerts on Sunday, shows a group of officers asking the driver of an SUV to turn his car off, as another officer opens the sliding backdoor on the driver's side. The vehicle was blocked by a police cruiser in the middle of an intersection.

Suddenly, the driver revs up the engine and drives forward, with one officer still clinging to the handle on the driver's door. The driver slams into the police cruiser, then goes into reverse, driving in a circle backwards and slamming into a parked car twice. After the second spin, the driver's front bumper is seen dangling and a police van is brought in to prevent him from completing the circle a third time.

The driver then gets on the sidewalk, heading straight for several people filming the scene with their phones. The driver then speeds away forward, and gets back on the street just before the video ends.

According to the New York Post, the scene was filmed in Manhattan. After the video ended, the car chase continued into the Bronx. Police identified the driver as 27-year-old George Lopez.

Police first spotted Lopez near Dyckman Street and Payson Avenue in Inwood at 4 a.m. Sunday morning, when he was driving in a bike lane. When police stopped him, Lopez refused to get out of the car, a Toyota Sienna.

The case finally about an hour later, after he hit a 2016 Toyota Rav4 head-on as he tried to get onto the Mosholu Parkway.

According to the Post, Lopez was charged with "reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of a crime, reckless driving, driving while impaired by drugs and driving without a license."

Lopez and the driver of the car he hit in the Bronx were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital to be treated for neck and back injuries. The three officers injured in the incident were taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital and have been released.

On Friday, there was also a report of an out-of-control driver in Harlem. According to the New York Daily News, a 70-year-old driver told police he lost control of his vehicle after getting sick. The vehicle jumped the curb, hitting a pedestrian, a pole, a parked car and a fire hydrant. The driver and pedestrian were taken to a nearby hospital and are expected to recover.

Photo credit: Twitter / New York City Alerts

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