Disturbing video shows the knife-wielding madman dangling from an overpass before plummeting roughly 30 feet onto the street below, landing near a group of women who barely flinched and kept walking as ice cream truck music played in the background.
Ismael English, 20, of East Harlem, was the passenger in a black Tesla being driven by 36-year-old Yadav Kumar Dhungel on the southbound FDR Drive approaching the Manhattan Bridge exit around 2:45 p.m. on July 11, 2023, cops said.
English pulled a knife and tried to carjack the rideshare, stabbing the driver multiple times in the shoulder, arm, and chest during the struggle, police and witnesses said. The wounded driver lost control, slamming the Tesla into a Jersey barrier and rear-ending another vehicle.
Bleeding heavily, Dhungel stumbled out and begged bystanders for help, including asking one woman to call his wife as he faded in and out of consciousness, according to accounts from the scene.
English then went on a wild spree, trying to commandeer other cars on the busy highway. He dove head, first through the open window of a passing sedan and briefly wrestled with the startled driver before being thrown out, witnesses told reporters.
With nowhere left to run, the suspect climbed onto the ledge of the elevated roadway, tossed his black knapsack down to South Street near Rutgers Slip, sat for a moment, then dangled by his hands before letting go. He crashed to the pavement below, breaking both legs, law enforcement sources said.
Video of the fall captures the sickening thud as he hits the ground near three women who appear more annoyed than shocked, continuing on their way as traffic rolls past on the upper level and boats move on the East River in the background.
English was arrested at the scene and taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. Dhungel also went to Bellevue, underwent surgery, and was reported stable.
Cops charged English with attempted murder, attempted robbery, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a weapon. He had a prior arrest for gun possession in 2021, court records show.
Lyft permanently banned the rider’s account, calling the alleged actions “abhorrent and entirely unacceptable.”
Neighbors described the hardworking family, man driver as a “perfect gentleman.” One witness summed up the chaos: “To do it on the FDR Drive on an overpass and then jump off is insane.”
Just another day in the Big Apple.
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