NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The hunt for a man accused of abducting a 9-year-old girl from a Queens supermarket and sexually assaulting her Thursday evening came to an end on Friday when he died in a car crash during a police chase, the NYPD said.
Police spotted the suspect driving a brown Honda Civic at about 12:30 p.m. and tried to pull him over, but he refused to stop.
Officers took pursuit, and the fleeing suspect crashed into a Jeep Grand Cherokee near 90th Avenue and 212th Street in Queens Village, officials said.
Citizen App video of the crash shows the Honda approaching a four-way intersection at a high rate of speed, running its stop sign and crashing into the Jeep. The Honda comes to a harsh stop and is quickly surrounded by officers who were trailing the suspect.
The suspect was transported to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. The driver of the Jeep sustained minor injuries.
Police identified the man as 64-year-old Queens resident Wayne Noel, who officials said was previously known to the department. He has four prior arrests, the most recent of which was a 2022 robbery that police say he committed with the use of the same vehicle.
Noel's death comes less than 24 hours after police say he abducted a 9-year-old girl from the Key Foods store at 213th Street and Jamaica Avenue, also in Queens Village.
Police said that Noel led the girl out of the store and into his Honda at around 7:20 p.m. on Thursday, while the girl waited for her grandmother, who was in the bathroom. He is accused of driving her somewhere nearby and forcing her to perform a sexual act on him while inside the vehicle.
Noel allegedly then drove back to the store, dropped her off and fled in the Honda, officials said.
The child was reunited with her grandmother at the store. EMS responded and transported her to an area hospital for treatment.
Police released surveillance images of the suspect and his vehicle on Friday morning to help in his arrest.