A very disturbing incident that occurred on the streets of Manhattan in New York City earlier this week, involving a group of young cyclists punching and kicking a BMW X5, was caught on camera making the news nationwide.
In the video, we see the cyclists surrounding the BMW, driven by Max Torgovnick, on Tuesday just after 4 p.m. at the intersection of East 21st Street and Fifth Avenue. They are seen punching the windows and body slamming the hood. One member of the group jumped on the bonnet and kicked the windshield until it cracked.
Torgovnick claims that the kicks were strong enough for fragments of glass to hit him and his mother, who was also inside the car.
🚨WANTED for CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: On 12/29 at 4:05 pm, at the corner of 5th Ave & East 21 St in Manhattan the group of unidentified males jumped on the hood & windshield of the vehicle and punched the side mirrors causing damage. pic.twitter.com/r1ih8iicUv
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 30, 2020
The altercation in the video allegedly followed an incident that we so far have been unable to find video of in which the BMW slowed, resulting in a cyclist crashing into the back of it.
According to Torgovnick, who spoke to the New York Daily News, one of the cyclists grabbed onto his car to use it to pull themselves along. Torgovnick says he slowed, with the intention of letting the cyclists by, but heard a thud from behind.
See Also: BMW Triggers Crash In New York While Recklessly Speeding Through Traffic
The thud was a cyclist who, according to a witness who filmed the event, suffered a bloody lip as a result of the incident.
Torgovnick says he then stopped and was about to open the door to see what had happened, when the cyclists started surrounding the car. He closed the door and decided to stay in the car.
“And I noticed this swarm of cyclists, tall, young kids just weaving in and out of traffic and kind of surrounding the car,” the driver told ABC7 New York. “We got to the point where they were in front of me and they were on either side of me and behind me, and I’m probably going like seven or eight miles an hour.”
“I started to open up the driver door but I was immediately surrounded on every side by these kids that have just gotten off their bikes and they started screaming, yelling, punching the car, hitting the hood of the car, just yelling, ‘get out, get out, open the roll down the window, roll down the window.’ When I didn’t, they started to take out their aggression on the car itself,” Max told the news station.
“But it was only once they started smashing the windshields as soon as the windshield broke, and the glass hit our faces and landed in our laps and I realized, like the ceiling is collapsing,” the 36-year old driver continued. “And if they jump on it one more time they’re going to gain access to the car.”
Witnessed a disturbing incident in broad daylight on 5th ave / 21st St in NYC today. About 50 young boys on bikes blocked 5th ave traffic & trashed an SUV, riders inside, jumping on the windshield. Car had medical license plates & a man & older woman inside. pic.twitter.com/33QeQc4ObC
— Maria Petrova (@_MariaPetrova) December 30, 2020
Torgovnick’s mother, who was also in the car, called 911. A witness reports that she was shaking and in tears following the altercation, saying “I thought I was going to die.”
As soon as he found a gap, Torgovnick drove out of the circle of cyclists. They then dispersed before police arrived.
A 15-year-old boy from Queens was arrested in connection with the incident, the New York Post reports. The NYPD News’ Twitter account confirmed an hour ago that “one individual has been apprehended,” but provides no further details.
According to the NYPD’s official Twitter account, the people involved in the incident are wanted for criminal mischief.
Torgovnick compared the incident to a 2013 incident in which a Range Rover ran over motorcyclists surrounding it.
They spat on the car, slammed a bike onto the windshield, then a guy jumped on it & they broke the handle, trying to open the door from the outside.
Woman was shaking & in tears, “We were trapped, there was so much violence, I thought I was going to die.” pic.twitter.com/H3mA9sSO4D
— Maria Petrova (@_MariaPetrova) December 30, 2020
