Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

NYC Hit-and-Run Suspect Under Arrest

Aired February 15, 2002 - 06:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That man suspected of running down 18 people in two hit-and-run accidents in Manhattan is behind bars this morning. Authorities say he may also be connected to a shooting incident.

For the latest, we go live to reporter Scott Rapoport of CNN affiliate WCBS in New York. And I hear this guy was hiding in his mother's basement, true?

SCOTT RAPOPORT, WCBS-TV REPORTER: Yes, but first -- Carol, first we've got to tell you this is really an astonishing story. It reads like something out of "Ripley's Believe It or Not." Police say the suspect did indeed return to the scene of the crime right here at 34th and 7th in Manhattan yesterday and that he came with bad intentions. The question this morning is why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAPOPORT (voice-over): Like a horrible case of deja vu, police and paramedics were on the scene yesterday as seven more pedestrians were mowed down by a crazed driver in a stolen car at the intersection of 34th Street and 7th Avenue. Astonishingly, sources say the driver was 39-year-old Ronald Popadich, the man accused of mowing down 19 victims on the streets of Manhattan just days earlier and his path of destruction yesterday was just as devastating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Broken legs, hips, head injuries, people that were knocked unconscious.

RAPOPORT: Cops say Popadich then ditched the car and fled the scene, but police later caught up with Popadich at his mother Violet's house in New Jersey.

JAMES SANTULLI, ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR: The mother of the defendant came out of the house, informed the detectives that he had arrived approximately 10 minutes earlier in a cab and that he was inside hiding in the basement.

RAPOPORT: Officers surrounded the house and Popadich came out. He was arrested on a charge of attempted murder but for a different crime, the near fatal Sunday night shooting of a New Jersey woman, Lisa Gotkin, who Popadich allegedly knew. Gotkin's husband telling us he didn't know Popadich or his wife's connection to the man but is relieved he is in custody. RICHARD GOTKIN, VICTIM'S HUSBAND: Relief more so than satisfaction. I mean there is no satisfaction at this point in time because the events can't be changed.

RAPOPORT: Authorities say Popadich has been using public transportation to evade arrest this week and was sleeping in hotels. What they can't say so far is what drove Popadich to do what he allegedly did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAPOPORT: Popadich will be arraigned at the Bergen County courthouse in Hackensack, New Jersey. That's happening today, 1:30 this afternoon.

We're live in midtown, Scott Rapoport for CNN -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, I was reading the "New York Post" on the Web this morning and their headline says this guy allegedly said I went back to hurt more people and that was all the motive he needed. Have you heard anything about that?

RAPOPORT: Well a lot of speculation about what his motives might or might not have been. They're being very careful here releasing information about that because they want to really get to the bottom of this and really try and figure out what was going through this guy's mind which will probably be one of the most interesting questions in this story.

COSTELLO: Thank you very much for reporting live for us from New York this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com