Man Who Took French Tourists On NY Chase Sentenced

NEW YORK (AP) - A driver of an illegal airport shuttle van who pleaded guilty to taking a group of French tourists on a police chase through New York City has been sentenced to a year in jail.

Police say Khaalif Preacher and an accomplice directed the tourists to their van as they looked for transportation to Manhattan outside John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens in June 2009.

An officer tried to stop them, but they took off. Police chased the van for 7 miles through Queens and Brooklyn before it crashed.

One of the five tourists was injured while trying to jump from the moving van. The others were unhurt.

Preacher was sentenced Thursday for reckless endangerment. His accomplice, Ian McFarlane, was sentenced last month to 90 days in jail and five years of probation for assault.

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Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com