What you should know
- A 44-year-old New Jersey man has been indicted in connection with a vehicle attack in Manhattan that injured nine pedestrians, including the action actress from the film “Black Panther“, Carrie Bernans, already a Police Officer, on New Year’s Day.
- Mohamed Alaouie was charged with assault, aggravated vehicular assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the frenzy that swept through the city center shortly after the crystal ball fell to welcome 2024.
- According to court documents and official statements, Alaouie and his girlfriend were sitting inside their BMW sedan near Seventh Avenue and West 33rd Street after spending time at a bar earlier that night. A passerby notified police around 1:30 a.m. that Alaouie was attacking the woman, and the officer told Alaouie to park his vehicle.
NEW YORK — A 44-year-old New Jersey man has been indicted in connection with a vehicle attack in Manhattan that injured nine pedestrians, including the actress from the film “Black Panther“, Carrie Bernans, already a Police Officer, on New Year’s Day.
Mohamed Alaouie was charged with assault, aggravated vehicular assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the frenzy that swept through the city center shortly after the crystal ball fell to welcome 2024.
According to court documents and official statements, Alaouie and his girlfriend were sitting inside their BMW sedan near Seventh Avenue and West 33rd Street after spending time at a bar earlier that night. A passerby notified police around 1:30 a.m. that Alaouie was attacking the woman, and the officer told Alaouie to park his vehicle.
Instead, he allegedly backed up and drove onto the sidewalk. West 33rd Street, where there were dozens of people. Court documents say he struck a victim before re-entering the road and turning north onto Seventh Avenue, which runs south. That victim’s mother identified her as Bernans in a social media post. She had been dining outdoors among the crowd at the time of the crash and suffered multiple broken bones and teeth, her family previously said.
Alaouie drove one block in the wrong direction before turning onto West 34th Street, while the agents pursued him on foot. He became stuck in traffic and began ramming vehicles in front of and behind him, prosecutors allege. He then allegedly accelerated and crashed into a food cart on the sidewalk, which struck three pedestrians and pinned two others below.
The 44-year-old man accelerated again, drove onto the sidewalk and headed west on 34th Street, crossed Eighth Avenue and eventually returned to the road between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, where he crashed into several other vehicles, prosecutors say. Alaouie also ran over three more pedestrians and a police officer who was trying to stop him on foot.
His vehicle eventually broke down after crashing into another car and police were able to arrest him. Cocaine was recovered at the scene and in the suspect’s pants when he was at the hospital the next day, investigators said.
Alaouie’s girlfriend was notably injured when she jumped from the vehicle at some point during the incident, prosecutors said. One of the pedestrians suffered a concussion and another is in constant pain due to elbow joint injuries, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
One of the two victims trapped under the food cart suffered skin and tissue tears from the metal of the cart. That individual now needs physical therapy to be able to walk without assistance.
Attorney information for Alaouie, of Fort Lee, was not immediately available.
“This defendant allegedly ran on crowded sidewalks and streets during the busiest time of year downtown,” Bragg said in a statement announcing the indictment Tuesday. “His recklessness endangered the lives of countless New Yorkers and visitors celebrating the New Year. I hope the victims can make a full recovery from their injuries and I thank the police officers who were on the scene to apprehend this individual.”
2024-01-30 16:41:48
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