NYC Man Who Fled Police Crashed BMW On Saw Mill With 3 Kids Inside: DA

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, NY — A New York man is once again making headlines for all the wrong reasons — this time in Westchester county

Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace announced on Wednesday that 41-year-old Joseph Columbus, of Manhattan, has been charged after leading police on a dangerous vehicle pursuit while he had three children in the car.

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Columbus was arraigned last week on a superseding felony complaint charging him with felony first-degree reckless endangerment; three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child; misdemeanor reckless driving; misdemeanor third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle; and misdemeanor resisting arrest.

Columbus is due back in court on June 3.

"The indifference shown by Mr. Columbus as he allegedly endangered the lives of multiple people, including his own minor children, is difficult to fathom," Cacace said. "I am only relieved that no one was killed during the defendant's reckless spree on the Saw Mill and that the police managed to apprehend him without further incident. We must ensure that the public roadways remain safe for all of us to use, which necessitates removing the most dangerous, reckless motorists from the streets and holding them accountable."

According to the complaint, on May 2, around 8:05 p.m., Columbus "evinced a depraved indifference to human life by recklessly engaging in conduct which created a grave risk of death to another person" when he drove a 2007 BMW on the Saw Mill River Parkway at a high rate of speed, swerving in and out of the two lanes of the highway.

The complaint alleges that while Columbus was driving the vehicle, he nearly hit a police vehicle and a civilian vehicle and drove straight through a red light, without slowing down or stopping.

After a police vehicle used lights and sirens directing him to stop, Columbus began to flee with his three children in the car, accelerating the BMW to speeds in excess of 25 mph above the posted speed limit, according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges that he ultimately crashed the BMW and disregarded several orders to exit the vehicle.

This case was investigated by the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Greenburgh Branch Chief Jamie Fair and Assistant DA Isabella Oppedisano.

Columbus, was jailed in December after refusing to tell a judge where his pit bulls Rambo and Zoey were after they mauled three dogs, including, famously "Penny the Chihuahua, according to a report in the New York Post.

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