Police: Driver flees after chase, crash into Corvette, SoHo art gallery
SOHO, Manhattan (WABC) -- A BMW stolen in New Jersey collided with a Corvette on a SoHo street in a crash that took down a light pole and shattered the front window of an art gallery.
The white BMW X5 crashed into the white Corvette at Broome and Greene streets just after 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Police said the BMW then took down a traffic light, and debris from the crash shattered the front door of the Eden Fine Art Gallery on Broome Street.
"Kind of crazy," gallery director Amos Frajand said. "I immediately thought, kind of lucky this pole is here. Because otherwise it would have driven right through that, which would have been bad news."
Ten years ago, a similar scene played out at Eden's second gallery in Midtown.
"Some drunk driver also drove into a pole next to the gallery," Frajand said. "Seems to be a reoccurring theme with our business."
The driver of the stolen BMW jumped out and fled on foot, according to authorities. He is currently being sought.
The 28-year-old driver of the Corvette was taken to Bellevue Hospital with minor injuries.
According to police, the BMW was stolen earlier in Berkeley Heights and was spotted around 1:50 a.m. by a New Jersey State trooper speeding in the eastbound local lanes of Interstate 78 in Newark.
The trooper attempted to pull over the vehicle, not knowing at that point that it was reported stolen.
The vehicle was followed to the Holland Tunnel, where the trooper broke off the pursuit.
Minutes later, the BMW crashed in SoHo.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police.