What to Know
- A driver of a white van went the wrong way on the Verrazano Bridge while trying to escape police Monday evening
- The chase ended when he crashed head-on into an unmarked police vehicle. Two officers were hurt in the crash, police say
- It's not clear why the suspect was trying to flee; he's expected to face charges
A suspect trying to flee police sped the wrong way on the Verrazano Bridge during the evening rush hour Monday, eventually crashing head-on into an unmarked police vehicle and shutting down the upper level as authorities attended to the scene.
The NYPD says they were looking for a burglary suspect when they spotted the suspect in a white van heading toward the Verrazano Bridge early Monday evening, and officers began crossing the bridge to pull him over.
At around the same time, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Police recognized the van and tried to pull over the driver. That's when the suspect, stuck in traffic, slammed into a car in front of him and made a U-turn, barreling the wrong way on the upper level of the bridge.
Police caught up with the driver, later identified as Peter Guarneri, 47, of Staten Island, as he was going eastbound in the westbound lanes. Chopper 4 over the scene showed a white van crashed head-on into a black sedan, believed to be an unmarked police vehicle.
A police radio transmission captured the dramatic exchange between officers and dispatch.
"We've got him on the bridge, we've got the bridge!" an officer says. "He's going the wrong way back into Brooklyn, he's going into Brooklyn."
"Shut it down, upper level," he says. "He's headed right into people, central. He's going the wrong way!"
After the driver crashed into a parked unmarked NYPD vehicle that was awaiting him in the median, he hopped out of the van and tried to run away, but was captured after a short foot chase.
Guarneri was then arrested and taken to an area hospital to be treated. He was later released and charged with a slew of charges, including reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, obstructing government administration, fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, assault on a police officer, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal possession of a controlled substance and aggravated unlicensed operator.
Local
Two officers, who both work out of the 122nd Precinct on Staten Island, were hurt in the crash and taken to an area hospital, where they were treated and released, police said.
All lanes at the Verrazano Bridge upper level coming off the Gowanus were closed down during the evening rush as police investigated, causing a two-mile backup around 6 p.m.
