One suspect is dead and another is in custody following a police pursuit that started in the Bronx and ended with a crash in Yonkers Tuesday, forcing the shutdown of the Saw Mill River Parkway, police said.
The dead suspect was shot by police after running into the woods following the crash, police said. The second suspect is in the hospital. Sources had initially said police were searching for a third suspect, but authorities later clarified there were only two suspects involved in the pursuit.
Authorities said the chase began in the Bronx, at around 242nd Street and Broadway, when NYPD officers saw a Nissan sports car driving erratically. When the marked patrol car attempted to stop the car, the driver fled onto the Henry Hudson Parkway.
"We saw just a lot of police cars, just going real fast down by Broadway," said witness Angel Camilo.
The Nissan continued north onto the Saw Mill Parkway, heading into Yonkers. There, the driver made a U-turn and started driving southbound in the northbound lane, causing collisions on the Saw Mill near Cross County Parkway.The suspects got out of the car and one was apprehended, while the other fled into the woods in Tibbets Brook Park, police said.
Police caught up with the suspect in the woods and there was some sort of confrontation, and an officer fired a shot at the suspect, killing him, police said.
Police did not reveal details about the nature of the struggle in the woods or what led the officer to fire his gun.
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Police initially said gunfire erupted when the suspects got out of their car on the Saw Mill; they later said the suspects were unarmed and there was no gunfire aimed at police.
Two police officers are being treated at St. Barnabas Hospital for trauma, per NYPD protocol. Another person was injured in an accident resulting from the chase, but not seriously.
The parkway was closed in both directions between exits 3 and 4 while authorities investigated. All northbound lanes remained closed through the evening rush hour but was expected to reopen by midnight; southbound lanes reopened.
Chopper 4 showed an extensive police presence at the scene. One vehicle in the middle of the roadway appeared heavily damaged.
Drivers were stuck in the snarled traffic for more than an hour. Some were shaken by the sight of police helicopters scouring the area.
"I don't like being around guns and bullets so the thought of a gun near my child is very disheartening," said one woman.
