Four Port Authority cops were hurt Friday in a wild car chase across the George Washington Bridge involving a suspect wanted for a slew of crimes in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The virtual demolition derby began at 11:40 a.m., when suspect Luis Figueroa, 33, of The Bronx, driving a stolen Cadillac Escalade, slammed into Officer Brian Ahern’s SUV at the Ft. Lee toll plaza, putting it out of commission.
A passing soldier shouted to the cop, “I’m U.S. military – jump in!”
Ahern, although hurt, pursued the fleeing Figueroa in the soldier’s car — as numerous other PAPD vehicles joined in.
The chase ended a short time later when when Figueroa got off the bridge in Washington Heights and crashed into a second PAPD police car.
Figueroa attempted to run off, but PAPD Officers Raphael Castillo and Alfred Oquendo tackled him. The two cops suffered a possible broken wrist and arm, respectively.
A fourth PAPD cop who was also injured did not need hospitalization.
The bi-state drama snarled traffic across the bridge for several hours.
Police sources said Figueroa’s crime spree grew out of a domestic dispute at about 8:30 a.m. at a home in Hazleton, Pa.
He allegedly attacked a pregnant woman in the house and kidnapped a second woman while brandishing a shotgun.
Figueroa then drove to New Jersey with the woman he had abducted before attacking a National Parks Service worker in Hardwick Township in Warren County and then swiping his car, according to law enforcement sources.
His next stop was at a Paterson car dealership to visit a cousin, whom he attacked with a machete before attempting to burn down the premises using a can of gasoline, according to the sources.
He drove off in a white Escalade he stole from the dealership.
The blaze did not spread. Federal officials from Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the arson probe.
A bloody machete was found in the rear of the stolen Escalade.
Figueroa was being treated for his burns at New York Hospital.