Terrifying news out of New York City today, as multiple outlets have now confirmed that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were involved in a car chase after leaving the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Awards Tuesday night.
Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, was also in the car with the couple.
A rep for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex says that the couple was “relentlessly” pursued by paparazzi for over two hours.
According to the Sussexes’ rep, their driver narrowly avoided several collisions that could have had fatal consequences.
For obvious reasons, the incident has raised painful memories of the death of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, who was killed while fleeing from paparazzi.
“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,” reads a statement from Harry’s press agent.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” the statement continues.
“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.”
According to a report from Deadline, the chase began when Harry and Meghan exited a public area where photographers had been snapping photos of the couple.
Their car was then pursued by “a dozen blacked out vehicles” driven by paparazzi who remain unidentified.
Witnesses say the pursuers were “recklessly driving on sidewalks, running red lights, and going down one way streets.”
The paparazzi were reportedly “confronted” by uniformed police multiple times, but on each occasion, they sped off in order to continue their pursuit of Harry and Meghan’s vehicle.
It’s unclear why there were no arrests made in connection with the incident.
Meghan received a Woman of Vision award at the Ms. Foundation gala earlier in the evening.
She and Harry — who live in Montecito, California — traveled to New York City for the event.
Meghan’s mother generally does not make public appearances or attend high-profile events, but she made an exception in order to see her daughter receive this prestigious honor.
The NYPD says the incident is being investigated, but many observers feel that police are not sufficiently concerned about the events of last night.
“On Tuesday evening, May 16, the NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” an NYPD spokesperson told the New York Post on Wednesday.
“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.”
Harry and Meghan have yet to speak publicly about the incident.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
