Pictured: Former auctioneer, 51, who 'hijacked a taxi while drunk and went on a naked joyride through a crowded Philadelphia park'
- Jonathan Gay, 51, charged with robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, DUI, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment
- He is accused of carjacking cab driver Michael Emanuel in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon
- Emanuel said Gay approached the passenger side of the car, grabbed a female customer by the hair and dragged her out
- The suspect then stripped off his clothes and carjacked the cab, police said
- He hit three parked cars while speeding through Rittenhouse Square, and eventually crashed into a curb before he was arrested, police said
Named: Jonathan Gay, 51, was identified as the suspect who was caught on video being arrested in Philadelphia after allegedly taking a stolen cab on a naked joyride through a crowded park
A former Philadelphia auctioneer has been arrested and charged with carjacking, driving under the influence and assault after he was caught on camera taking a stolen taxi on a joyride while naked.
Jonathan Gay, 51, was identified on Wednesday as the person who allegedly carjacked a cab in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon and drove it through a crowd of people at the busy Rittenhouse Square before crashing it into a curb.
Gay was charged with robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, DUI, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.
Cab driver Michael Emanuel, 42, said he was dropping off a customer in the 2000 block of Locust Street at around 3.20pm when a man approached the rear passenger side and dragged the 49-year-old woman out of the car by her hair.
When Emanuel stepped out to intervene, the suspect, later identified as Gay, took off all his clothes, jumped into the driver's seat and took off.
He drove through the crowded park, hitting two parked cars and an oncoming vehicle before crashing into a curb, police said.
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This screenshot from a video recording shows the moment police arrived to arrest Gay, seen lying naked on the ground, after he crashed the carjacked taxi
Cab driver Michael Emanuel got out from the car when Gay approached the passenger side and started attacking his customer. The man then took off his clothes and stole the taxi
Video by BLT Films
A video recording of the incident captured the sound of the cab tires squealing and pedestrian Kyra Howell made a run for it, telling 6ABC: 'I honestly saw my life flash before my eyes.'
Brandon Thompson, who saw the cab weaving through the park, heroically chased the vehicle down on his bike, NBC reported.
When the cab finally crashed into the curb near the intersection of 18th and Walnut streets, Thompson tried to yank the car keys out of the ignition while other Good Samaritans pulled Gay from the car.
Video footage showed the naked man pinned the ground as a large crowd gathered around him.
Thompson said: 'He was completely nude. He had nothing on him but what God gave him.'
Another eyewitness, Josh Schonewolf, told Philadelphia Magazine that Gay appeared 'all red and naked and crazy' when he was pulled from the taxi.
Video footage of the incident captured the sound of the cab tires squealing (above) and pedestrian Kyra Howell made a run for it, saying: 'I honestly saw my life flash before my eyes.'
Gay was then taken into police custody and transported to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries, ABC reported.
The woman whom he allegedly attacked is expected to be okay. No other injuries were reported.
Gay is being held at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on $5,000 bail pending his preliminary hearing on February 23, reported Philly.com.
Court records indicate that Gay, formerly a licensed auctioneer with the renewed Freeman's Auctions in Philadelphia, was on probation at the time of Monday’s incident stemming from a 2016 case involving charges of aggravated assault, theft, receiving stolen property and making terroristic threats.
The most serious counts against Gay were ultimately dismissed but he was found guilty of theft. He later appealed conviction, and the case is scheduled to go to trial later this year.
When the cab finally crashed into the curb near the intersection of 18th and Walnut Streets, Good Samaritans pulled the man from the car
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