Surveillance Video Captures Deadly Police Car Crash into Dirt Bike in Bronx

Surveillance video obtained by NBC 4 New York shows an NYPD patrol car slamming into two men on a dirt bike in the Bronx last August, killing the passenger.

The passenger of the dirt bike, Adam Gonzalez, is expected to appear before a judge on Monday to face several charges stemming from the accident. In the meantime, his attorney has filed a $100 million claim to bring a civil suit to trial, saying Gonzalez has suffered psychologically from the crash.

Last August, Gonzalez was riding a dirt bike without a license plate or helmet on Randall Avenue in Hunts Point when police officers in a patrol car spotted him and swerved toward him, police said. The video shows the car appearing to hit the bike and knock Gonzalez onto the sidewalk.

Unhurt, Gonzalez fled on foot, and then jumped onto the back of a bike owned by his friend Eddie Fernandez, which was also unregistered. The police squad car turned to pursue that bike and as it chased after the men, slammed into the back of the bike.

"The police officer barrels into them like a scud missile," said Gonzalez's attorney Peter Ronai. "They were dead ducks. They had no chance. Their only crime was riding a dirt bike. They paid with their lives."

Fernandez died at the hospital. Gonzalez suffered a broken leg and was charged with reckless endangerment, obstructing governmental administration, fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle and resisting arrest.

Fernandez's brother, John Fernandez, said of the video: "It looks like he didn't even look back. He didn't know what was behind him."

Ronai said his client is "psychologically, he's ruined. Watching his best friend die was not easy."

Ronai said Gonzalez has no criminal history aside from his August arrest.

The NYPD has not responded to requests for information on the status of the officers involved in the crash. 

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