NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A man and his mother were going to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree on Tuesday, when men on bicycles jumped on the SUV, hit the windows and shouted for them to come out.
The surveillance video shows the wild Midtown scene.
Hazel Sanchez of CBS2 spoke to the driver, who said he has not slept and that his mother is severely traumatized by Tuesday’s people’s attack. They both said they thought their lives were over.
As shown in the pictures, it was a terrifying terrifying sight. A group of young cyclists surround an SUV and throw their bodies and bicycles into the vehicle while the driver freezes in fear.
The attackers eventually retreat after jumping into the hood and smashing the windshield.
Max Torgovnick, of the Upper East Side, was behind the wheel of this vehicle.
“When he broke the glass, at that time my biggest fear was that they would get in the car, that they would take me out and they could kill me,” Torgovnick said. “All I heard was my mother crying and screaming. That’s what haunts me the most. “
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Torgovnick said the confrontation began as he and his 74-year-old mother drove down Fifth Avenue on East 22nd Street in their BMW SUV. He said dozens of cyclists surrounded the SUV and grabbed the vehicle for a ride in it.
“There was someone wheeling right behind the car and it crashed into my back and that’s what caused it all,” Torgovnick said. “Everyone was off their bikes circling the car, banging on the glass, banging on the hood, yelling,‘ Get out of the car! Lower the window! ‘”
“Before you knew it, my mother was crying. Call the 911 operator on the phone: “Help! Send help! We will die. They will kill us, ”he added.
Torgovnick said he stopped the car and left it in the park, worried about any movement that could injure someone outside or intensify the violence.
“It wasn’t until they started jumping on the windshield and they broke the glass and we had a glass raining down on us that I saw an opening and I said,‘ I need to get out of here. Now I have to protect my mother. This is now a point of self-defense. That’s life or death, ”Torgovnick said.
Police posted still images of some of the cyclists they were looking for.
“I have lived here all my life as a New Yorker for 36 years. I feel entitled to the city’s responses on what allowed this to happen and what they will do to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else again, ”Torgovnick said.
Police believe the cyclists they are looking for are teenagers. A security guard working in the neighborhood said the group of cyclists has caused problems in the area before.