Prince Harry and Meghan in near catastrophic car
chase with paparazzi, spokesperson says
Incident happened after couple attended awards
ceremony in New York on Tuesday
Caroline
Davies and Victoria Bekiempis in New York
Wed 17 May
2023 18.50 BST
The Duke
and Duchess of Sussex and the duchess’s mother were involved in a “near
catastrophic” two-hour car chase in New York after being followed by “a ring of
highly aggressive paparazzi”, the duke’s spokesperson has said.
The
incident is said to have happened after Prince Harry, Meghan and her mother,
Doria Ragland, attended an awards ceremony on Tuesday.
The three
of them are said to have been subjected to a “relentless pursuit” involving
half a dozen blacked-out vehicles.
There were
no reported collisions, injuries or arrests, police said.
In a
statement, their spokesperson said: “Last night, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
and Ms Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a
ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.
“This
relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near
collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD
officers.
“While
being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should
never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.
“Dissemination
of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a
highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved.”
According
to reports, the couple originally left the award ceremony in an SUV, and were
followed by photographers. Aided by police officers assisting their private
security detail, the couple went to a police station about 14 blocks away, AP
reported.
They spent
several minutes there waiting for the situation to de-escalate and, once it was
safe, left in a yellow taxi cab, according to a law enforcement official, who
was speaking on condition of anonymity.
A member of
the security team protecting the couple said that after the couple had left the
event, the chase was “chaotic” and could have ended in fatalities.
Speaking to
CNN, Chris Sanchez said there were “about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and
bicycles”. He continued: “The public were in jeopardy at several points. It
could have been fatal.”
He added
that at one point the couple’s limousine was blocked by the vehicles, which
were “jumping curbs and red lights”. When the couple eventually got to the
apartment they were staying in, he described them as “scared, exhausted, but
relieved to be back”.
Sukhcharn
Singh told AP he was driving his yellow cab on 57th Street, near an NYPD
precinct a few blocks south of Central Park, when a security guard waved him
down. Singh pulled to the curb, he said, and Harry, Meghan and her mother got
in. “They were following us the whole time,” said Singh, though he said he
would not call it a chase.
Julian
Phillips, NYPD deputy commissioner for public information, said: “The NYPD
assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The
Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no
reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.”
The duke
and duchess are said to accept there is a heightened level of attention when
they are out at public events. In this case, they exited and entered the venue
publicly and were photographed by paparazzi, according to a source.
But there
were understood to be fears that the ensuing chase could have been fatal.
According to one source, the chase involved half a dozen blacked-out vehicles
with unidentified people driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and
everyone around them.
Traffic
violations were said to have included driving on the sidewalk, running red
lights, reversing down a one-way street, driving while on the phone, driving
while photographing and illegally blocking a moving vehicle.
It was
claimed that individuals involved were confronted by uniformed police multiple
times and sped off to continue the pursuit.
The family
was staying at a private residence and did not want to compromise the security
of their friend’s home, a source said. There is said to be footage taken from
security along with other evidence to support the timeline and circumstances.
Meghan
received a Woman of Vision award on Tuesday as she and Harry made their first
public appearance since the coronation of King Charles. In her speech, Meghan
encouraged women to fight for equity as she accepted the award at the Ms.
Foundation for Women’s annual gala.
New York
City mayor, Eric Adams, told reporters he had not received a full briefing
about the incident yet, but he called it “reckless and irresponsible” for
anyone to be chasing people in vehicles in the densely populated city, and said
that “two of our officers could have been injured”.
Buckingham
Palace declined to comment on the reports.
Video
footage obtained by the TMZ website appeared to show the Sussexes in a taxi,
which was stationary with flashes apparently from cameras reflecting off the
vehicle’s windows. Two police cars were immediately behind them, but when the
taxi drove off, the police cars went in a different direction. “It looks like
the cops tried to outwit the paps by driving in a different direction than the
cab,” TMZ said.
Harry has
frequently spoken about his anger about press intrusion, which he blames for
the death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed when her car
crashed as it was followed by paparazzi in Paris in 1997. He has also spoken of
his fears of history repeating itself, particularly in respect of media
interest in his wife.
He is
currently involved in several court cases in London, where he has accused
papers of using unlawful methods to target him and his family.
He is
bringing a contested claim against Mirror Group Newspapers over allegations of
unlawful information gathering.
Harry is
also waiting for rulings over whether similar cases against publishers
Associated Newspapers Limited and News Group Newspapers can continue.
A judgment
is also expected over the duke’s libel claim against ANL – publisher of the
Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday – over an article on his case against the Home
Office.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário