Man Charged With Felony After Police Chase in Westchester

Joseph Columbus was arrested this month after a vehicle pursuit on the Saw Mill River Parkway in Hastings-on-Hudson. Police said he refused several times to pull over before crashing the car and then refusing to exit the vehicle when officers approached.

Three children ages 6, 10 and 15 were in the car at the time. Columbus, 41, was charged with felony reckless endangerment along with misdemeanors including fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, reckless driving and endangering the welfare of a child.

Columbus had been ordered by a Manhattan Supreme Court judge to turn over two pit bulls named Rambo and Zoey after the dogs attacked three other dogs on the Upper West Side. One of the attacked dogs was killed and another, a chihuahua named Penny, survived.

He was jailed in December for repeatedly refusing to tell the court where the dogs were located. Columbus was spotted with a new brown puppy on a leash on Columbus Avenue on March 30.

Owner Lauren Claus and dog walker Karen Kramer launched Penny's Fund earlier this month in collaboration with the Animal Medical Center to help owners whose pets are attacked. The fund was created after the May 2025 incidents involving Columbus's dogs.