Shortly after 2 p.m., a Westchester County detective attempted to stop the vehicle – which had Florida license plates – as part of an investigation, when the driver rammed the police car and took off in Mount Vernon.
The chase started on Sanford Boulevard before eventually advancing to several tight, winding streets in New Rochelle, when the driver cut up the driveway of 1 Hill St., striking a parked truck and speeding through three backyards before the Chrysler slammed into a wood bench on a patio behind 55 Hill St.
The driver attempted to flee on foot before he was apprehended several blocks away from the crash. One of the passengers was caught as he was getting into a cab as a passenger, while the third remained at large.
Police air and K-9 units were called to the scene to assist with the search for the third suspect.
Bette Chianese, who has lived at 1 Hill St. for 45 years, said she was enjoying a “leisurely lunch,” when she got the phone call that the police were at her home. The car destroyed several things in her backyard, including a planter, her grandchildren’s toy chest and a birdbath that predated her owning the home.
“Thank god there were no children around, because they would have been playing right where they drove through,” she said. “Now we’ve got to clean this mess up, go through all the insurance stuff and all of that. It’s going to be a lot of work.”
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