A bizarre security video has surfaced showing a New York Police Department Toyota Prius repeatedly ramming a Honda Accord.
The video was reportedly filmed in Flushing, Queens and was uploaded over the weekend.
The clip starts with the Accord sitting in the middle of the street. After approximately 30 seconds, the Prius slams into it, seemingly unprovoked. The Prius then backs up and hits a Toyota Sienna minivan.
As the Accord begins pulling into a parking space on the left, the Prius slams into the rear end of the car again and pushes it sideways. The vehicle then moves out of view of the security camera. What happened next remains unclear, but the video then shows smartphone footage of the damaged Prius.
We reached out to the NYPD and they confirmed the incident did indeed happen. Unfortunately, they’re still talking to the unit involved and weren’t willing to share a lot of details over the phone.
We’ll update this post once we hear back from them with more information, but it’s certainly a shocking video. However, it probably doesn’t tell the whole story. Speculation suggests the incident was caused by road rage, but that’s not necessarily the case. NYPD officers have been targeted by criminals and gangs in the past and it’s possible the driver of the Prius felt threatened. Or perhaps someone hijacked the Prius – we just don’t know at this point.
It’s also worth mentioning that we can’t see what’s going on inside the Accord, so we probably shouldn’t jump to conclusions yet.
Update:
We’ve heard back from the NYPD and Sergeant Jessica McRorie sent us a statement saying “On Saturday, March 30, at approximately 1520 hours near the intersection of 37th Avenue and Main Street, a Traffic Supervisor was operating a marked traffic enforcement vehicle when the vehicle did strike several [other] vehicles. A patrol supervisor responded to the scene and conducted an investigation. The driver of the vehicle appeared disorientated and was transported by EMS to an area hospital for further medical evaluation. The incident remains under internal review.”
https://youtu.be/_yQxm1X6jug