By Thomas Tracy and John Annese
Sources New York Daily News
A suspected carjacker ended a two-state spree of theft and carnage by slashing a Port Authority police officer’s face on the George Washington Bridge early Sunday, police sources said.
Uvaldo Gonzalez, 42, of the Bronx, was busted after a bloody battle on the bridge, where sources say he tried to commandeer a police car after his stolen ride broke down.
Gonzalez first stole a car in Manhattan, then headed to South Hackensack, where he crashed into a Wendy’s restaurant on Route 46 just after 2:30 a.m., sources said.
He unsuccessfully tried to steal another vehicle nearby, then carjacked a third vehicle and escaped before police arrived, according to a statement from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office.
That car, a Toyota Sienna, broke down on the approach to the New-York bound bridge, and Gonzalez got out, sources said. He started banging on the window of Port Authority Officer Joseph Romano, who was responding to a call of a disabled vehicle, the sources said.
Gonzalez started trying to get into other cars on the bridge as Romano’s back-up, Officer Miguel Correa, arrived. And that’s when Gonzalez hopped into the passenger side of Correa’s patrol car, sources said.
Correa jumped through the open window on the driver’s side of his cop car to stop Gonzalez from stealing it when the thief pulled out a knife, slicing him in the face, sources said.
Correa, Romano and a third Port Authority officer subdued Gonzalez. All three cops and the suspect were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center for a variety of injuries.
Correa, who suffered slashes to his head and face and a broken hand, and the other two officers, have since been released from the hospital, sources said.
“Three of our officers sustained injuries, thankfully non-life threatening,” Port Authority Police Benevolent Association President Frank Conti said Sunday. “I applaud them for a job well-done, and I’m extremely happy that no one was more seriously injured. This is yet another example of the dangers of police work, and of our members stepping up and getting the job done.”
The alleged crook remains in custody and charges against him are pending, according to the prosecutor’s office.
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