NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A New Jersey man who injured nine people by driving through a crowded midtown sidewalk and some streets on New Year’s Day was indicted on Monday, prosecutors said.
Mohamed Alaouie, from Fort Lee, 44, is also being charged with assaulting his girlfriend before the rampage incident.
On the day of the incident, Alaouie and his girlfriend were in his car at the corner of West 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue when a bystander told police that Alaouie was assaulting the woman inside his car, according to court documents.
The officer then approached Alaouie and told him to put his car, a black Mercedes, in park. The suspect did not listen and instead reversed the car and drove into the sidewalk full of people, according to the indictment.
He allegedly hit one victim with his car while he was reentering the roadway onto Seventh Avenue, prosecutors said.
He allegedly drove one block and was stuck in traffic on West 34th Street and rammed into some cars in front of and behind him. Police officers who were also chasing Alaouie on foot were at the scene.
Alaouie then struck a food cart, which hit three pedestrians and pinned two underneath it, according to court documents.
He then allegedly drove onto another sidewalk and eventually made his way on the roadway.
Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, he allegedly hit several other cars, injuring three more individuals and one police officer who was on foot trying to stop him.
Alaouie's car finally broke down and officers arrested him.
A search of his car was done and police found 16 glassines of cocaine and two were found in his pants the next day at the hospital.
Alaouie's girlfriend was injured when she jumped out of the car during his spree.
One of the victims was concussed, and another remains in constant pain from injuries to their elbow joint. One of the victims pinned under the food cart suffered skin and tissue tears from metal on the cart and needed physical therapy to be able to walk without assistance.
Actor and stuntwoman Carrie Bernans, 29, who appeared in films like "Black Panther" film and "The Color Purple" musical, was among the eight people struck and injured. She had several broken bones but is stable in the hospital.
Patricia Lee, Bernans’ mother, had posted photos on Instagram showing Bernans' injuries.
Alaouie was charged with assault, aggravated vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a controlled substance among others.