Theft rap for ex-con in ramming of police car

An ex-con is charged with ramming a stolen car into a police cruiser with a stolen car in Hell’s Kitchen, authorities said Tuesday.

Johnny Diaz, 44, is facing a grand larceny rap for the car theft that led to the clash with cops near W. 49th St. and 12th Ave. at 1:15 a.m. on Thursday.

Cops responding to a report of a stolen car at W. 31st St. and Broadway spotted a Toyota Camry fitting the pilfered vehicle’s description near the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

The officers pulled the Camry over, but when they stepped out of their patrol car, Diaz put the Camry in reverse, hit the gas, and slammed into the front of the police cruiser in a harried bid to escape, authorities said.

One cop fired one round in response, but no one was struck, the NYPD said.

Police grabbed Diaz before he could get far.

His arraignment on the grand larceny charges were pending Tuesday.

Diaz did two stints in state prison, including two years on a Bronx robbery conviction beginning in 1997, state records show. He also did two years in prison on a Bronx drug possession conviction in 2000.

After violating his parole, he was put back in the clink for several months and released last August.

He was living at a Midtown hotel that houses recently released prisoners before he was arrested last week, authorities said.