Dash Cam Captures Horrifying Moment When Drugged-Up Jeep Driver Crashes Into NYC Uber Head-On

The Jeep driver, who was under the influence of marijuana and cocaine, pointed his phone at the police as if it were a gun.

By Chris Chin May 15, 2019

News

CBS2

A running dashboard camera recently caught a harrowing instance where a speeding Jeep driver under the influence crashed head-on into an Uber vehicle in New York City’s Queens-Midtown Tunnel last week. The raw video from the hired Uber car shows the car traveling in the left lane of the Manhattan-bound tube when all of a sudden, a Jeep Patriot comes barreling down in the opposite direction, colliding with the Uber car head-on in an offset frontal crash, according to CBS2.

The Uber car, driven by a 37-year-old man named Zafar, was transporting two female passengers at the time. The driver of the Jeep Patriot driving in the opposite direction was 18-year-old Jorge Beato, who was apparently piloting his father’s car on a learner’s permit.

Witnesses report seeing Beato entering the Queens-Midtown Tunnel on the Manhattan side, who reportedly reached speeds of up to 55 miles per hour, which is 20 mph over the 35 limit. Beato drove over the course of a half a mile in the wrong direction before colliding with Zafar’s Toyota 4Runner.

All victims in the accident survived, suffering only minor injuries. Zafar told CBS2 that he now suffers from pain in his back, shoulders, and down his legs from whiplash.

Beato was reportedly high on marijuana and cocaine when he crashed through the closed barrier at the 35th Street entrance to the tunnel. Upon investigating the crash, authorities said they found used drug bags in the Jeep Patriot.

The video catches Beato attempting to exit his father’s Jeep, but then the video quits. To make matters worse, police stated that Beato tried fleeing the scene and even pointed his cellphone at the responding officers like it was a weapon. The two MTA officers immediately realized it wasn’t a legitimate threat and apprehended Beato without further incident.

“I was so angry, how can this guy put another life in danger,” Zafar told local news affiliates. “Then I think about other people and this could happen to anybody.”