The NYPD is searching for a truck driver who struck an officer then sped off at an intersection in Astoria, Queens last night. The trouble began when a 49-year-old woman claimed that a man who was driving a pickup truck stolen in Florida had snatched her pocketbook. Around 9 p.m., police spotted a truck matching the description at Broadway and Crescent Street, right by the scene of the robbery. When they pulled the vehicle over, it hit one of them before peeling off.
While a witness told CBS New York that the officer appeared to be seriously injured, she noted that he was conscious before being taken away in an ambulance. The search for the suspect briefly shut down the Queensboro Bridge,but officers were unable to locate the assailant. The truck was later found at 37th Avenue and 4th Street.
Police believe the suspect, described as a white male between the ages of 50 and 60 years-old with a "heavy build," escaped on foot.
[via Gothamist and CBS New York]
