Drag Racer Jailed For High-Speed Chase In Springfield Gardens

SPRINGFIELD GARDENS, QUEENS -- A Bronx drag-racing man will be forced to slow his roll in jail for the next six months after he led police on a high-speed chase through Springfield Gardens, prosecutors said.

Juan Ramirez, 26, was handed down the sentence in Queens Supreme Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty in April to the 2016 fast-and-furious style chase that at times hit upwards of 115 mph, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

"This defendant endangered the lives of many people, not to mention himself, when he decided to race on our streets," Brown said. "Drag racing on city streets and expressways is a disaster waiting to happen."

Cops first tried to pull over Ramirez when they spotted him racing his 1992 red Honda Civic along the Nassau Expressway on Aug. 23, 2016 against another driver still at large, according to the charges.

Ramirez initially slowed town and pulled his Honda to the side of the expressway after an officer turned on his sirens and angled his cop car to cut Ramirez off.

But suddenly, he took off, leading police on a chase through a Springfield Gardens suburb that at times surpassed 115 mph, prosecutors said.

After driving into a fence in a neighborhood cul-de-sac, Ramirez floored his car in reverse and nearly hit a police officer in yet another attempt to flee.

But with the car's bumper caught in the fencing, he opted to run from the scene and was tacked by cops after a short chase through the neighborhood, according to the charges.

Ramirez was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment and participating in an unregulated speed contest or race. He was ordered to five years probation in addition to six months in jail.

Lead photo via Shutterstock