WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Police are looking for a driver who slammed into an NYPD officer who pulled him over for talking on his cellphone behind the wheel — and then fled the scene, police said.
Officers from the Manhattan North Scooter Task Force spotted a man in a dark green Honda Odyssey using a handheld phone while heading south on St. Nicholas Avenue near West 185th Street at 5 p.m, police said.
When police pulled up their scooters next to the minivan, the driver made a sudden left turn, knocking down one of the officers before speeding on West 185th Street, police said.
Surveillance video shows the driver careening onto a sidewalk near Yeshiva University, at Amsterdam Avenue and West 186th Street, and then speeding on the roadway, police said.
The officer was taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt hospital with head, neck and back injuries, police said.
The minivan had a Florida license plate, sources said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).