A serial purse-snatcher was critically injured last night when he was struck by a passing car moments after he stole a woman’s pocketbook on a Chelsea street, authorities said.
The thief, who was not identified, was riding a bike when he was struck at 17th Street and 11th Avenue after he had dashed off with the woman’s handbag.
The driver, Peter Welsh, said he heard a woman scream, “He’s got my purse! Someone help!”
That’s when Welsh barreled into the thief as he tried to get off his bike.
“I tried to get in front of him and intercept him,” Welsh said. “I didn’t mean to hit him.”
The thief, wanted for a string of purse-snatchings in Manhattan, was taken to St. Vincents Hospital in critical condition.
The incident comes a week after Welsh said he chased down a carjacker who crashed into four cars and hit a pedestrian June 14 near a Brooklyn movie set where Welsh was working.