Police have charged the man accused of stabbing a Lyft driver during a failed carjacking attempt on Manhattan’s FDR Drive that ended in the suspect breaking both of his legs jumping off the overpass, police said Wednesday.
Ismael English faces charges of attempted murder, attempted robbery, reckless endangerment and possession of weapons for Tuesday’s mayhem on southbound FDR Drive as he approaches the bridge exit from Manhattan.
The 21-year-old East Harlem resident was previously arrested for criminal possession of a firearm on July 14, 2021, according to court documents. He eventually pleaded guilty to the charge but never showed up for sentencing.
After cops arrested him on a warrant on June 27, 2022, he posted his $10,000 bond. He is due back in court on October 6 in the weapons possession case.
English was riding a Lyft when he pulled out a knife and attempted to hijack the 36-year-old driver of his Tesla at around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, cops said.
He allegedly stabbed the driver multiple times, causing the injured Lyft driver to crash his Tesla into another vehicle.
As witnesses called 911, English got out of the wrecked Tesla and jumped out of the open window of a passing four-door sedan, said Serge Velbovets, whose Nissan was badly damaged in the fender.
“He jumped out of the driver’s side window,” Velbovets told the Daily News on Tuesday. “I looked at the driver’s side and the two guys were struggling. I yelled, ‘What’s going on here?!’ »
When the surprised second driver slammed on the brakes, English jumped off and fled down the freeway, witnesses told police.
In the video seen by The News, the suspect is seen throwing his black backpack from the FDR Drive overpass to South St. near Rutgers Slip more than 50 feet below.
Then, seeming to contemplate the jump, he sat down on the ledge before balancing himself with both hands. Eventually he let go, collapsing in the street and breaking both legs, cops said.
“Boom! He hit his head. I thought he was done,” Velbovets said. “But after a few moments he was up but he couldn’t walk. stopped. It was, like, amazing.
Cops rushed English and the Lyft driver to Bellevue Hospital, where the two are expected to recover.
English’s arraignment for attempted murder was pending in Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday.