At approximately 2 p.m. today, the driver of a Nissan Sentra went barreling down Main Street in downtown New Paltz, where they struck three vehicles near the intersection of North Front Street and Main Street.
According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the vehicle was fishtailing down Main Street when they struck one car that was turning left onto North Front Street.
After slamming into that vehicle, a Mazda, the driver continued down Main Street, where they hit two more vehicles, including a Tesla and a Suzuki. People who witnessed the incident said the Nissan Sentra became caught between the Tesla and the Suzuki. The driver got out of the vehicle, dropped their jacket and took off on foot, running from Main Street onto Church Street.
At the same time this was happening, a protest was being held, with many residents and student activists calling for the federal government to stop funding and disband U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which was involved in two recent fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Many of the protesters were students from New Paltz High School who witnessed the entire incident.
They explained to Hudson Valley One that several State Police officers had originally apprehended an African American man and had him on the ground in front of Gourmet Pizza, despite many eyewitnesses telling them they had the wrong person and that the suspect had already fled on foot.
“I think it was good that we were here to let them know that, because they did let him go once they realized they had the wrong person,” said Bella Morales, who was out protesting with her classmates.
There were police vehicles on site from the New Paltz Police Department, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department and the New York State Police. Police dogs were used to sniff the car that the suspect had abandoned, and within minutes a State Police helicopter was circling above.
From what HV1 could learn, the suspect had made their way toward Huguenot Street. At press time, there were several police cars on Huguenot Street, and one resident said a police officer told them they were searching for a male suspect with dreadlocks who was wearing dark pants. Eyewitnesses were split on whether the suspect was male or female.
Eventually, police shut down the lower portion of Main Street from North Front to North Chestnut Street, where they took witness statements and began to have the cars towed.
The protesters had been moving from Peace Park to the Elting Memorial Library bench and the corner of Main and North Front Street when the situation occurred. To HV1’s knowledge, no one was hurt.
Hudson Valley One did reach out to the NPPD and the State Police, who are handling the case, but have yet to receive a comment.
Neighbors on Huguenot Street reported State Police officers with firearms behind their homes in search of the suspect.
HV1 was also told that the suspect had been the subject of a police chase on the New York State Thruway. According to these reports, the suspect turned off at Exit 18 in New Paltz, went down Main Street and caused the four-car accident.
At approximately 5:30pm the police enforcement officers that had been on Huguenot Street in pursuit of the hit and run suspect, all got into their vehicles and left that vicinity. A few minutes later, the New Paltz Police Department put a comment on Facebook saying that Main Street in downtown New Paltz, had been cleared that the “investigation is ongoing, there is no indication of a continuing risk to the public.”
HV1 has reached out to the NPPD who will not comment any further and to the New Paltz State Police who have yet to return our phone calls and inquiries.
We’ll update this story as further details emerge.
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