NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – One suspect has been arrested as police continue to look for members of a motorcycle group who they say attacked a driver after chasing his SUV through Manhattan.
Christopher Cruz has been charged with reckless endangerment, reckless driving, endangering the welfare of a child and menacing, police said.
The 28-year-old was with a large group of bikers when police said he was involved in an accident with a Range Rover Sunday morning on the Henry Hudson Parkway.
Video of the incident, which appeared to be taken from a camera mounted on another biker’s helmet, was posted to YouTube early Monday morning.The video starts with a large group of bikers driving around the Range Rover as it heads north on the highway.
In the video, one of the motorcyclists is seen riding alongside the SUV looking at the driver’s side window. The biker then moves in front of the Range Rover and suddenly slows down, causing a collision, police said.
The bikers, between 20 to 30 in all, are then seen in the video coming to a complete stop on the highway, surrounding the Range Rover.
Police said the driver of the Range Rover, 33-year-old Alexian Lien, had his wife and infant daughter in the car at the time of the incident.
Some of the bikers are seen getting off their motorcycles and approaching the car. That’s when police said some of the bikers begin damaging the Range Rover, though it’s not clear from the video.
“They take their helmets and they start to dent his car and apparently his tires are slashed there,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
Police said Lien panicked and the video shows the SUV suddenly accelerating, plowing over some of the motorcycles.
For the next several minutes of the video, the bikers can be seen chasing the Range Rover for about two miles until the SUV gets off the highway at around West 178th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, police said.
As Lien gets stuck in traffic, the bikers surround him again, police said. One of the riders is seen in the video jumping off his bike, ripping off his helmet and using it to bash in the driver’s side window.
A second biker is also seen running up and hitting the driver’s side rear window with his fists.
At this point, the video stops but police said the attack continues.
Kelly said Lien is taken out of his car and assaulted.
Witnesses described what they saw.
“He got off his bike and started attacking the person in the Range Rover with his helmet, breaking the windows and after they got him out of his car, they beat him up,” said witness Christopher Quinones.
Lien was taken to the hospital where he needed stitches to his face. His wife and child were unhurt.
Police said a biker suffered two broken legs after the SUV ran over him and another suffered a leg injury. But the wife of one of the injured bikers said her husband is paralyzed and in a coma, WBZ-TV reported.
Dayana Mieses, the wife of Edwin Mieses, said her husband got off his bike to help an injured biker who was hit in the initial collision.
“When all the bikers stopped, my husband got out, parked his bike to walk over to try to help his friend. He walked over towards the front of the vehicle when, at this point, I don’t know what happened the man was scared, the man just peeled off and ran over my husband,” she told WBZ-TV.
Mieses said her husband has injuries to his heart, lungs and ribs and that he is paralyzed from the waist down. The couple has two children, ages 15 and 9.
“That man paralyzed my husband,” Mieses said about Lien. “He needs to pay for what he did.”
Mieses works in studio engineering in the music business, WBZ-TV reported. Friends call him Jay Meezee and have created a Facebook page for him.
Police said the bikers were part of a group called the “Hollywood Stuntz.” This was apparently part of an annual ride designed to draw attention and make it into Times Square.
“This is a major stunt event where motorcyclists from various locations come together,” Kelly said. “Quite frankly it wasn’t on anybody’s radar screen last year. We were aware of it this year.”
In order to prevent the group from heading into Times Square this year, police set up checkpoints throughout the city. Kelly said during that effort, 15 arrests were made, 68 summonses were issues and 55 motorcycles were confiscated.
The NYPD released a photo Tuesday of two bikers who investigators said were part of the melee. One driver has a Guyana flag on the tail end of his bike and the other has a black and white design, police said.
Cruz is the first one clipped by the Range Rover, police said. He is the biker in the video who appears to intentionally slow down and comes to a near stop in front of the SUV.
Police said Lien had called 911 to report the bikers were driving erratically. He has not been charged.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visit CrimeStoppers.com or by text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.