‘Didn’t mean to hit . . . his friend’
Rampage wheelman ‘killed pal’
The Queens driver accused of fatally mowing down a pedestrian during a fight over a parking spot not only knew the victim — they were friends.
The news was “a twist we didn’t know until this morning,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said during an unrelated Mondaynday press conference.
Suspect Adriann Harry, 22, and hiss ill-fated pal, Richardo Chatergoon, 23, had driven together to a hookah lounge on Liberty Avenue near 127th Street at around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, officials said.aid.
As Harry was parkingarking his white Hyundaiai Sonata,Sonata his car tapped a parked BMW, authorities said.
Two men in the Beemer angrily hopped out, Harry and Chatergoon also exited their car, and the four began arguing, police said.
Harry then whipped out a blade, stabbing at least one of his adversaries while Chatergoon rumbled on the sidewalk with some good Samaritans who tried to intervene, according to Boyce. One of the people who got involved, Vernal McClean, 22, allegedly smashed one of Harry’s windows with a hammer. Harry hopped back into his car — and that’s when things turned deadly. “Mr. Harry then takes off, drives back around, mounts the sidewalk andan hits six people, one of which was DOA. That person was the peperson in the car wwith him,” Boyce ssaid. A law-enforcement source added, “He said he didn’t mean to hurt anybody. “He said he jujumped the curb bebecause he just wanwanted to scare people.ple. OObviously, the scaringing went a little too far, and that’s when he ran them over. “He said he didn’t mean to hit anybody, let alone his friend.” Harry claims he was in the hookah bar when he was attacked, leading to the brawl and the getaway, according to a confession read in court during his arrangement Monday night. “I was present in the hookah bar when I was attacked,” he stated in court documents.
“I was punched on the side of my face . . . I took out the knife and wrapped my belt around my hand and started swinging.”
He then allegedly admitted to getting into his car and driving into “a group of people.”
Harry was charged with murder, assault and reckless endangerment in Queens Criminal Court Monday.
McClean was charged with criminal mischief for breaking the window, officials said.