Multiple injured after driver ploughs into New Year's Eve crowd in New York
Multiple people have been left injured after a car ploughed into New Year's Eve revellers near Madison Square Garden in New York.
Nine people, including one New York Police Department officer, were reported injured during the mass casualty on West 34th Street and 9th Avenue.
Cops were called to the scene at around 1.40 am local time as crowds started to depart nearby Times Square after a sparkling crystal ball descended to start 2024. The car is said to have mounted the sidewalk and ran down multiple people and police officers before coming to a stop, according to reports.
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Two police officers were injured during the chase (Daily Mail WS)A 44-year-old male driver is now in custody and was taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment after cops were chasing the car before the crash. Pictures from the scene show three cars involved in the crash including two black cars and a yellow taxi. Social media footage appeared to show a conscious man being stretchered away after the horror incident. No deaths have been reported.
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Officers have warned locals to expect road closures and traffic delays in the area. Police were on patrols in New York as part of a heightened security effort. Officers expanded the security perimeter around Madison Square Gardens. New York Mayor Eric Adams said there were 'no specific threats' to the area.
The driver of the car was taken into custody (Daily Mail WS)A small army of thousands of police officers worked to keep New York City safe, just as heightened security had done in the city's midnight hit first. New York has seen near-daily protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war.
“It’s beautiful,” Corin Christian of Charlotte, North Carolina, said of the scene seconds past midnight as Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” blared from speakers in the square and many in the crowd held mobile phones in the air, trying to capture the spectacle.
Tyrell Jacobs, 27, and Sarah Crayton, 26, arrived from New Orleans 15 hours before midnight and got engaged in streets packed with tens of thousands of people counting first the hours and then the minutes until midnight.
“It’s definitely a must-see,” Crayton said of the colorful cast of strangers nearby in tall hats and blowing noisemakers even before the ball dropped. “At least go once, you know, just to experience the magic.”
On New Year’s Eve 2022, a machete-wielding man attacked three police officers a few blocks from Times Square. The Las Vegas Strip was closed to vehicle traffic and there was a heavy law enforcement presence with armed officers lining the Strip as thousands of revelers gathered and street musicians played before midnight, when fireworks launched simultaneously from multiple casinos. The city of Las Vegas said more than 400,000 people were at the celebration.
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