You don't know shame until the Post mocks you the day after the Post prints its interview with you. That's the lesson Maria McCormack, who complained to the paper about her "baby"—a red Dodge Charger—being damaged by an apparently suicidal man (she said, "I want to meet [jumper Tom Magill] and say, 'Why? Why my car out of all the cars in the city?'"). According to the Post, now McCormack says, "I have not slept since this has happened. My heart and prayers go out to the family. I've been praying for Tom. I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery." more ›

Maria McCormack lent her red Dodge Charger to her husband on Tuesday—only for the car to be totaled after cushioning the 39-story fall of an apparently suicidal man. She moaned to the Post, "I miss it. It's my baby... I want to meet [jumper Tom Magill] and say, 'Why? Why my car out of all the cars in the city?'" more ›

Yesterday morning, a man jumped from the roof of a 40-floor building on West End Avenue—and survived because a red Dodge Charger parked on a dead end apparently cushioned his fall. The Daily News reports that 22-year-old Thomas Magill was screaming, "My leg! My leg!" A witness told the paper, "He came down feetfirst at like 100 mph. That's a miracle if I've ever seen one. He should be a goner. It was like that movie 'Unbreakable.' That was this guy: unbreakable." And the car's owner, construction worker Guy McCormack, pulled out a set of rosary beads from his car, "Here's what saved him!" more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on 120th St. and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, a stabbing on West 31st St. in Brooklyn, and a fall victim at MoMA in Manhattan.
• The New York Yankees took first place in franchise spending, with a total payroll of $218.3 million last year. The World Series-winning Boston Red Sox payroll totalled $155.4 million to finish a distant second.
• The New York Water Taxi is terminating its South Brooklyn service between Sunset Park, Red Hook, and Wall St. at the end of this month.

A 17-year-old who was given a 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 as a starting-college gift was driving in Queens when the car hit a guard rail, "became airborne for 100 feet," and finally hit a concrete pillar. Two passengers, 18-year-olds Devindra Harilal and Christopher Karan, were killed. more ›

An afternoon spree of shootings and carjackings by one man was ended yesterday by police, who fatally shot the suspect in a gun battle where 130+ shots were fired. A 23-year-old named Victor Gordon, with ten arrests already listed on his rap sheet, left his girlfriend's apartment on President St. after an argument. He walked over to St. Paul's Place just south of Prospect Park––perhaps stopping at a few bars along the way––and stole a Dodge Charger at gunpoint just before 2 p.m. He drove it back to the home of his ex-girlfriend, where he began firing shots into her front door. The Daily News reports that Gordon was visibly drunk at this time. As he stumbled down the steps from her building, he dropped his gun and then picked it up and brandished it at a group of children playing nearby. more ›

If you see a NYPD cruiser speeding around (not during an Operation Hercules exercise that involves like 30-50 cruisers doing a ballet), it might just be the brand new 2006 Dodge Charger the police are testing out this summer. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly introduced the 15 new cars yesterday, explaining the NYPD wanted to diversify its fleet, as it's currently made up of only Chevy Impalas and Ford Crown Vics. Plus they wanted to "add muscle in the car department" - the Charger has Hemistry! Another interesting thing about the NYPD Charger: It has a "stealth mode" - amNew York says "the interior lights are dimmed to look like the car is turned off." Appropriate for neighborhood busts? more ›

Early yesterday morning, a 22 year old man was killed by a drunk driver's car in Midtown. Twenty-two year old Benjamin Brown and some friends had been out partying, and they crossed 57th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues when a 2006 black Dodge Charger hit him around 3AM. The police apprehended the Charger's driver, Bronx resident Michael Hunt, a block away and found that he was drunk - and his car's windshield was cracked. Hunt was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated; police believe Hunt had just come from a club. Brown, who was from Stamford, Connecticut and recently graduated from Fordham, was pronounced dead at St. Luke's. more ›

Come this summer, you may see a new NYPD car - the Dodge Charger, best known as the Dukes of Hazzard car. The NYPD is adding fifteen 4-door Chargers for its Highway Unit - they must really love the Hemi - and ten will be tested this summer. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, "We're always looking for good equipment, including a little muscle in the car department," which almost sounds dirty. Of course, the NYPD's cars will have "fortified front seats, no rear-door handles and heftier brakes" according to the Daily News. Gothamist just hopes "Dixie" won't play on the siren. more ›