A 20-year-old man was hit with a slew of charges Wednesday after crashing a stolen car into multiple vehicles and injuring 10 pedestrians during a chaotic police chase in Midtown Manhattan.
Kyle Fernandez is facing charges including reckless endangerment, possession of stolen property, operating a motor vehicle while on drugs, resisting arrest, and others in connection to Tuesday’s mayhem — which ended when good Samaritans tackled the fleeing driver to the ground and held him down until cops arrived.
The madness unfolded during the evening rush hour near the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 42nd Street, just steps away from Grand Central Terminal, after police tried to pull over a maroon Hyundai Tucson that had been reported stolen from the Bronx Monday.
Instead of coming to a stop, the SUV with Illinois license plates sped away, with cops following at low speeds because of heavy traffic, according to law enforcement sources.
The Hyundai, allegedly driven by Fernandez, crashed into a bicyclist and a yellow cab — and then jumped a curb and plowed into a group of pedestrians while trying to make a U-turn at the intersection, police said.
The SUV then headed the wrong way on Lexington and slammed head-on into a black SUV, bringing the chase to a close, cops said.
Fernandez jumped out of the mangled SUV and tried to escape — as seen in a video obtained by The Post — but bystanders grabbed hold of the suspect and detained him until cops arrived to take him into custody.
A baggie containing what was described as a green, leafy substance, as well as suspected drug paraphernalia, were reportedly recovered from the front passenger seat of the Hyundai, sources said.
The wild incident left 10 people injured, including two children, ages 6 and 10.
The most serious injury was an ankle fracture, while most victims walked away with scrapes and neck and back pain.
Witness Michael Discioarro described seeing one badly injured victim bleeding on the ground.
“Another victim was laid up against the door of a store,” he told The Post. “She was clearly hurt … Her leg was twisted in a way you shouldn’t twist a leg.”
Police said the driver did not have a New York driver’s license.
Fernandez has a criminal history, including two gun charges and drug-related offenses, sources said.
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