It turns out that Orlando Santos, who was shot and killed after a police chase on the Major Deegan Expressway late Friday night, had several prior arrests for drugs and guns, and was currently wanted on a drug warrant. Police had tried to pull him over for a busted headlight near Prospect Avenue and East 163 Street, but he refused to stop and raced onto the Major Deegan, where he got caught in construction zone traffic. And that's when he started crashing into pregnant ladies.
Ester Melendez, five-months pregnant, says she was driving with her mother when Santos slammed into the side of her car. "He kept on backing up and hitting us, rocking our car back and forth," she told the Daily News. "And then he just kept on driving." Santos kept crashing into cars, and Melendez said, “We were telling him to stop and he wouldn’t. I guess they felt he was going to hurt more people, and that’s when they finally started shooting."
Police reportedly fired 19 shots at the car, but once they had him surrounded and asked him to step out he tried to drive toward the officers. Two officers fired several rounds at Santos, ultimately killing him. Melendez, her mother and two others were treated at Lincoln Hospital. Melendez said, "I thought I was going to die. It was crazy. I've never seen anything like it."
