Sam Costanza
A picture of the aftermath at the intersection of 99th St. and 57th Ave. in Corona on Saturday following a two-car accident that injured seven people. One of the cars had been pursued by police prior to the crash.
A HIGH-SPEED wreck in Queens that left seven people hospitalized is being probed by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau because the car that caused the smashup had been fleeing police, cop sources said.
Members of the Queens Gang Squad pursued Joseph Barriga, 26, after spotting him driving a Honda Civic with Tennessee plates that blew through a stop sign on 49th Ave. at 93rd St. in Corona about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the sources said.
Barriga hit the gas when the cops, riding in an unmarked car, tried to pull him over, the sources said. Two minutes later, the speeding Honda ran a red light at 99th St. and 57th Ave. in Corona and slammed into a Mitsubishi containing five people.
“Cops were chasing him and he hit my car,” said Steven Marulanda, owner of one of two parked cars that were damaged.
Police sources said that at the time of the crash the unmarked police car was a block behind the Honda, the sources said. A minute into the pursuit, a police supervisor had told the officers to stop, one source said. It was not known if they followed the order, but the source said the officers were not going as fast as Barriga when the Honda hit the Mitsubishi.
Sam Costanza
The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the crash because of the police pursuit that preceded it, cop sources said.
Cops are encouraged not to chase motorists who flee or refuse to pull over unless it is absolutely necessary.
Barriga, who was critically injured, was behind the wheel despite having his license revoked following 20 suspensions, sources said. A passenger in Barriga’s car suffered serious injuries.
Barriga has been charged with reckless endangerment, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and a host of violations. His arraignment was pending Wednesday.
No disciplinary action has been taken against any of the cops involved, and one source said that such measures are unlikely in this case.
“They were a block away when it happened,” the source said. “If they were right up his a–, that would have been a different story entirely.”
With Peter Gerber
ttracy@nydailynews.com
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via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1
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