French Family Still Hearts New York After Police Chase

A French family caught up in a film-worthy police chase Tuesday after unintentionally stepping into an unlicensed livery cab at JFK Airport would like everyone to know one thing: They still love New York. The Dulugat family is receiving the royal Big Apple treatment after their bizarre and terrifying ordeal, and they are savoring every minute of it.

"This is the greatest city in the world, and I want everyone to know it has the greatest police," patriarch Jean-Jacques Dulugat told the New York Daily News.

Jean-Jacques, his wife Michele, and daughter Gwen had just stepped off their trans-Atlantic flight from Paris and were eager to begin celebrating Gwen’s 28th birthday when they searched for an airport cab to take them into Manhattan. Police say they were approached by Ian McFarlane outside the airport, who steered them into the van along with Claudie Mamane and her daughter Ester-Ethy, who had also been on the Paris flight.

As the van prepared to pull away, a Port Authority police officer spotted McFarlane, a well-known limo hustler, and driver Khaalif Preacher and ordered them out. Instead, Preacher gunned the engine and began a harrowing police chase to the horror of his stunned passengers.

Eventually, the men jumped out of the van as it crashed into a stop sign. The Dulugats were uninjured and Claudie Mamane hurt her arm when she attempted to jump out of the van while it was still moving.

City officials, who did want their trips ruined because of the scary ordeal, quickly showered the two families with gifts including museum passes and Broadway tickets. The strategy worked, as the Dulugat family enjoyed lounging in Times Square and happily posed with a "I heart NY" mug. The families smiled broadly as they participated in a press conference and are adjusting to their new celebrity status.

"All the fame is weird," birthday girl Gwen Dulugat admitted. "I feel like I'm living some sort of American Dream."