Man critically hurt during wild Qns. car theft remains in coma
Friends of a man critically hurt in a wild caught-on-camera car theft in Queens are pulling for the victim to survive.
“I watched the video,” victim Tauree Thompson’s friend Gigi told the Daily News. “It still feels unreal.”
Thompson, 28, was trying to stop three teens who had just lifted his idling 2006 Lexus near a Taco Bell on Liberty Ave. near 120th St. in South Ozone Park around 9:45 p.m. Monday.
He jumped on to the hood of the car and hung on as the kids swerved in an apparent effort to shake him off.
When they crashed less than 200 feet away, Thompson was sent flying into the air as the car rolled over, shocking footage shows.
As the Lexus remained on its side, the crooks shimmied out of the driver’s side door.
Two 15-year-old boys were quickly arrested and charged with assault, grand larceny of an auto, criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Meanwhile, medics rushed Thompson to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition, where he remained unconscious nearly 48 hours later.
“He’s in a medically induced coma because of the surgery that he had on his brain,” said a friend of Thompson’s who only wanted to be identified as Phillip. “They want him to rest. They have him on a whole bunch of meds and stuff like that. So he’s just resting.”
The man said Thompson, a graphic designer and brand strategist, continues to be closely monitored and is “50/50” as far as his outlook goes.
“Basically it’s like a waiting game,” said Gigi, who lives in Thompson’s building. “We’ve been praying.”
Police have not yet caught the third teen who was involved.
“We’re not holding up good at all,” Thompson’s sister told The News in brief interview. “My brother’s f——ed up right now.”