Bizarre police chase through Manhattan

(Lower Manhattan-WABC, March 22, 2006) (WABC) -- A woman is accused of stealing a flatbed truck and leading police on a bizarre chase through Lower Manhattan this morning, hitting several vehicles in the process.

Eyewitness News has learned the truck, owned by Judlau Contracting, was stolen from a storage yard on Allen Street, near the Manhattan Bridge, just before 3 a.m.

Police say a security guard noticed the vehicle, with large pipes on the flatbed, was being stolen.

The suspect, a woman in her 30s dressed as a construction worker, then struck a vehicle at the intersection of South and John streets. She did not stop, and police took up pursuit of the vehicle.

The chase took police on a tour of Lower Manhattan, with the suspect driving the wrong way on several streets. The truck hit several police cars as authorities pursued the vehicle through the narrow streets.

Timothy Donovan, NYPD: "The truck circled around Lower Manhattan and went at a very high rate of speed...very easily moved vehicles out of it's way as it proceeded through the streets."

At one point, the truck appeared headed near the Holland Tunnel, and Port Authority officials were put on alert. Then, the truck appeared headed toward Brooklyn, and authorities were asked to shut down the outbound Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.

Police finally stopped the truck when the driver made a wide turn at the intersection of Bridge and State streets and hit a fire hydrant.

Donovan, NYPD: "We believe it hit at least one or two police vehicles...no injuries to anyone."

The disheveled suspect, who was also bleeding, was taken into custody. As police handcuffed her, she yelled to the officers to get her "backpack with her belongings" from the truck.

The woman's name has not been released. She was taken to Bellevue Medical Center for treatment for head injuries. Charges against the woman are pending.

No officers were injured in the pursuit.

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