An inmate with a long rap sheet escaped from a hospital Thursday morning — minutes after he appeared virtually in front of a Bronx judge, according to police and court records.
Career criminal Jose Lopez, 37, slipped away from police custody during a stay at NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln around 11:52 a.m. in Mott Haven, police said.
Around 20 minutes earlier, he was arraigned from his hospital bed on a slew of charges after allegedly speeding and crashing a motorcycle while running from cops in the Bronx on Aug. 29 , according to police and records.
Cops tried to pull him over at the time but he fled, leading police on a wild chase.
When officers finally collared him on Gerard Avenue and East 150 Street, he was carrying drugs, the NYPD said.
He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, reckless endangerment, obstruction of governmental administration, reckless driving, failure to yield to a pedestrian, operator leaving the scene causing property damage and driving a vehicle on or across a sidewalk.
Lopez pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday morning, while Bronx judge Daniel Lewis set $1 cash bail, records show.
Since 2008, Lopez racked up 16 arrests ranging from robbery, burglary and drug charges, police said.
After his daring escape Thursday morning, police and K-9 units flooded the area around the hospital to try to find him.
Cops said it’s unclear how he managed to get away.
A photo released by the NYPD shows Lopez, of University Heights, in blue hospital garb before he fled on foot.
He’s described as 5-foot-11, 170 pounds.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
