Drivers are beaten and thrown out of cars: theft of cars in New York is on the rise

More and more New Yorkers are returning behind the wheel after the pandemic, and the hijackers are on the alert, too. The number of car thefts as of September 19 increased by 81% compared to the same period last year. There were 324 hijackings this year, up from 179 in the same period in 2020. In 2019, NYPD data showed only 86 such incidents. That's a whopping 277% jump in two years. New York Post.

Police said on September 12, in Inwood, a gang of robbers on motorcycles attacked a man driving a BMW 328i. He was hit twice in the face and pulled out of the car by force.

The 2-year-old driver's nose was broken in a horrific 30:23 AM robbery on Riverside Drive near Henshaw Street. The gang left in his luxury car, police said, taking his expensive chain with them.

Not just empty cars are hijacked

On the night of March 29, the gang attacked a 26-year-old man driving a 2010 Honda on a busy street in Brooklyn.

Two thieves approached the driver, who was sitting in a parked car in Clinton Hill. They asked for the time, then showed a knife and ordered the driver and his friend to get out of the car.

On the subject: Mother prevents kidnapping attempt by pulling her 5-year-old son out of the car window

In June, two carjackers in Hell's Kitchen drove off in an SUV with two women inside. They also dragged another woman behind the car on the asphalt, who was standing a few centimeters from the stolen car. Three women exited a silver 2013 GMC Acadia in the parking lot, police said. But the car's engine was still running. One of the women was unloading the trunk, one was standing near the front passenger door, and the third was sitting in the back seat. Suddenly two men approached them. One of them jumped into the driver's seat of the SUV, and the other climbed into the front passenger seat. The hijackers tried to leave. The woman unloading the trunk was able to jump into the rear cargo compartment of the car, trying to stop the hijackers, and the one who was outside fell and was pulled by the car along the road. Three blocks later, the hijackers fled, and the women managed to recapture the car.

A New Hampshire man was charged with stealing a car with a two-year-old girl inside. The incident took place in Brooklyn over the summer. Tyler Hall, 33, has received multiple charges in the horrific July 2 incident. These include robbery, car assault, large theft and child health risks. Fortunately, the girl was not hurt.

“These are unprincipled people who commit crimes with low risk and high reward,” said Joseph Giacalone, associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former NYPD sergeant.

“Criminals know that the police can rarely chase them around the city, and that frees their hands. Even if they are caught, they will get nothing for it. It's a win-win for the bad guys, ”he added.