TRIBECA — A drunk motorist driving the wrong way through the Holland Tunnel made an abrupt U-turn and led police on a wild chase, the Port Authority Police Department said.
Jamie Proano, 29, entered the south tube of the Holland Tunnel heading towards New Jersey in his 2012 Nissan about 1:10 a.m. Tuesday. In-bound traffic had been suspended at the time, Port Authority officials said.
Proano’s car was cut off and blocked by a maintenance vehicle, so he whipped it around and drove back out the Manhattan side, officials said.
A patrol vehicle tried to stop the car, but Proano accelerated before finally hitting the brakes at a red light near the tunnel entrance.
But when officers approached the car, Proano hightailed it again. Additional police units finally caught up with him at Varick and Laight Streets, officials said.
Proano, of Woodside, Queens, reeked of alcohol and had bloodshot and watery eyes. He refused to submit to a breath test, Port Authority Police said.
He was charged with DWI, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and fleeing a police officer on a motorcycle.
