Service on the 1/2/3 line from Chambers Street to 42nd Street was shut down for over an hour last night as the NYPD searched for an arrestee who managed to escape and briefly disappear below ground. The handcuffed 18-year-old, who the cops had picked up for selling pot, reportedly jumped out of a police car at around 6 p.m. and entered the Christopher Street station. The suspect then apparently took to the subway tunnels, running until somewhere around Lexington and 21st Street, where he was eventually re-apprehended after popping out of a manhole cover. One witness described the chaotic scene, which involved the aforementioned suspension of train service, lots of sirens, and helicopters overhead: “He pushed it out and they just came running, 30 or 40 cops.” She added, “It was very Pelham 123.” Well, minus the hostage-taking and the webcams and the James Gandolfini-as-mayor, but who are we to begrudge our fellow New Yorkers the chance to compare exciting things they see on the street to big budget thrillers?
