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Luis A. Figueroa, 33, was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center with burns he likely got while trying to burn down a Paterson car dealership a short time before the bridge crashes.
Three PAPD officers were treated for cuts and bruises at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, authority spokesman Joseph Pentangelo said.
Port Authority police arrested Figueroa late last November for DWI and outstanding warrants. Pentangelo said he was charged after refusing to take a breath test.
Figueroa was wanted for skipping court on those charges when yesterday’s crime spree began, Pentangelo said.
Authorities in Hazleton, PA said he was carrying a shotgun when he attacked a pregnant woman and then kidnapped his girlfriend from her home around 8:30 a.m.
They then headed to New Jersey.
NJ State Police said Figueroa sexually assaulted the woman at a Route 80 rest stop, hitting her with the butt end of the shotgun.
Somehow she got into the driver’s seat and drove to a local post office in Warren County, where she was found bleeding from the head and fading in and out of consciousness.
Back at the rest stop, Figueroa hid the shotgun, attacked a national parks service worker and stole his car, State Police said.
He then went to a Hosanna Motors on Totowa Avenue in Paterson, which is owned by a relative, and tried trading in the stolen vehicle for the Escalade, authorities said.
When the salesperson refused, Figueroa stole the vehicle — but not before trying to burn down the dealership, they said.
The fire was contained to a shed, where authorities said they recovered a gas can and other evidence.
It was around noon when the Cadillac struck a marked Port Authority Suburban with one officer inside at the upper level toll plaza, pushing it onto a concrete divider, Pentangelo said.
It continued across the bridge, hitting a PAPD sedan at the 179th Street ramp, he said.
Figueroa abandoned the disabled Cadillac at the ramp to 179th Street and tried to run but was quickly caught by Port Authority officers, Pentangelo said.
Police found a machete in the car, he said.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office was drawing up charges against Figueroa for aggravated assault while fleeing from police, aggravated assault on a police officer and eluding. He also was being issued several summonses, Pentangelo said.
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