A quick run to the drugstore went completely haywire Tuesday afternoon, leaving 300-lb. Bronx resident Vincent Amato laid up in Jacobi Medical Center. Amato’s mishap started with an alleged larceny at a Greenwich, CT CVS and went on a downward spiral from there.
Amato’s alleged misdemeanor in Greenwich turned into an interstate escape down I-95; complete with a police pursuit through Rye and several other towns, highlighted by an SUV roll-over and car fire in Pelham, and ending with a trip to a Bronx hospital for Amato yesterday afternoon.
According to Rye Police spokesperson Lieutenant Joseph Verille, Rye Police were alerted around 2:54 p.m. about a vehicle that had left the scene of an alleged larceny in Greenwich, CT. A Rye police officer spotted and began to follow the black 2004 Mercury SUV headed southbound on I-95 near exit 19 in Rye.
The driver–described as a 300 pound, hispanic male– slowed to a stop near exit 18. When the police officer approached, however, the driver took off again. At times, the driver took his SUV off the roadway, driving on the shoulder of the road to avoid slowing traffic.
Eventually, Amato allegedly lost control of the SUV near exit 14, rolling over into a steep, wooded area on the roadside.
Despite significant injuries, Amato then tried to flee from the scene on foot before being arrested in Pelham Manor near Eastchester Place and Ropes Avenue. Meanwhile, the SUV erupted in flames. FDNY responded to extinguish the blaze.
According to Verille, Amato is currently at Jacobi Medical Center with broken bones and other injuries and has not yet been formally charged. No specific details were available about Amato’s current condition or possible criminal charges.
