Police cuffed a man on drug charges after he led officers on a wild chase last month — only for the suspect to flee custody while receiving treatment in the Bronx Thursday, cops said.
Jose Lopez, 37, was being treated at Lincoln Hospital on E. 149th St. near Park Ave. when he fled the medical center on foot shortly before noon, according to police.
Two weeks earlier, Lopez had led officers on a chaotic chase after they spotted him riding a gas-powered moped on a Bronx sidewalk around 4:27 p.m. on Aug. 29, cops said.
Pedestrians were forced to leap for safety as the suspect throttled his two-wheeler at a high rate of speed down the sidewalk.
Lopez’s off-the-rails ride ended after he crashed his moped into another vehicle. The suspect tried to continue his escape on foot, but police caught up with him on Gerard Ave. near E. 150th St. in Concourse.
As officers arrested Lopez they found a large quantity of narcotics on him, according to police.
Police have released surveillance images of the fugitive in the hopes of speeding his return to custody.
Anyone who spots Lopez is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stopper’s Hotline at (800) 577-8477.
