Carjacker robs 5 cabbies in Bx.
HUNDREDS OF people were forced from their homes when a massive blaze ripped through a Bronx apartment building early Wednesday.
The residents — many still in robes and pajamas or draped in blankets and towels — evacuated from the Mount Hope building on Walton Ave. near E. 177th St. around 6:30 a.m., authorities said.
Carmen Alvarez, 27, who lives on the sixth floor with her 8-year-old daughter, woke up to smoke billowing into her bedroom and immediately leapt into action.
“There was smoke coming through the walls and no alarm going off,” she said. “I ran down the hall and started waking up my neighbors on the fifth and sixth floor.
“My daughter was coughing and crying. I was really scared.”
Some covered their mouths as plumes of smoke poured into the street. Others held small dogs and cats frightened by the chaos.
“I woke up at 4:45 and could smell smoke,” said Jessica Mercedes, 33, who lives on the sixth floor.
“We checked all the windows and the wires and didn’t see anything strange but then at 6:20 my youngest son ran in and said there was smoke coming into his room. I saw my neighbors running out so I called 911, grabbed my sons and left,” Mercedes said. A SERIAL carjacker brandishing a knife and gun robbed five cab drivers — including a 90-year-old man — during a weeklong crime spree in the Bronx, police said Wednesday.
The string of heists began when the crook flagged down a red Honda CR-V livery car at a red light near 169th St. and Third Ave. in Morrisania around 8:50 p.m. on Sept. 18, according to authorities. He pulled a gun on the driver and drove off in the SUV, cops said. He resumed his rash of robberies two days later.
The suspect (inset) is described as about 5-foot-6, 180 to 200 pounds, with a full beard and medium to dark complexion. He was last seen wearing a gray longsleeved sweatshirt and black Yankees baseball hat.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.