Police are searching for a man who escaped Department of Correction custody while being treated for a leg injury at a Bronx hospital on Thursday.
Jose Lopez, 37, was at NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln just before noon when he decided to make a run for it, police said.
Officials were not exactly sure what kind of leg injury Lopez had, but said he did flee the hospital on foot.
Lopez was arrested on East 150th Street and Gerard Avenue in West Concourse on August 29th, after police spotted him riding a gas-powered motorcycle at a high speed on a public sidewalk.
He initially tried to evade officers and crashed, police said. Once he was arrested, police say they found a large quantity of narcotics in his possession.
Lopez is facing a slew of charges from that incident, including multiple counts of drug possession, reckless driving, failure to yield to a pedestrian, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, and obstructing governmental administration.
Court records show he was arraigned from his hospital bed on September 12th – just before he allegedly fled.
Lopez is the latest of several people to escape DOC custody while at local hospitals.
In June, 35-year-old James Mossetty ran away from Bellevue Hospital’s secure loading area as officers were putting him in a van to go back to Rikers Island. He was re-arrested three weeks later.
In August of 2023, 44-year-old Yenchun Chen escaped Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in Gramercy Park by rappelling out a fifth-floor window with sheets he had allegedly tied together. He was re-arrested the following month.
A photo released by the NYPD shows Lopez wearing light blue hospital garb. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 21.