A Manhattan man who thought Google was trying to secretly “torture’’ him crashed his car into a building near the search engine’s city headquarters Tuesday, injuring a 12-year-old girl and two women, according to cops and court papers.
A sign declaring “Google tortured me” and at least one gas can were found near the car of the suspect — who claimed for years that the tech giant was abusing him with sudden bright flashes across all his devices.
Suspect Jason Bitton — a 34-year-old Upper East Side resident who claimed to drive for Uber, at least at one point — lost control of his white Ford Fusion and mounted the sidewalk around 6:10 p.m. at 15th Street and 10th Avenue in Chelsea, police said.
He struck the pre-teen pedestrian as well as two nearby women, ages 47 and 50, cops said.
Then he smashed into a glass building at the corner — about two blocks from Google’s 2.9 million-square-foot, 15-story local headquarters, authorities said.
All three pedestrians were taken to Lenox Health Greenwich Village, where they were listed in stable condition.
It’s unclear whether they are related or know each other.
A man drove into a Manhattan building near Google’s local headquarters Tuesday, and a sign reading “Google Tortured Me” can be seen near his car. Video by Ed Quinn (FreedomNewsTV)Bitton was arrested at the scene and charged with three counts each of attempted assault, attempted reckless endangerment and attempted reckless driving, police said.
His arraignment was pending Wednesday.
A cardboard sign with the words “Google Tortured Me” painted on it, at least one gas can and pill bottle, clothing and other items were seen lying on the ground next to Bitton’s crashed ride, according to video taken by Freedomnews TV.
Bitton’s Facebook page shows he claimed for years that Google was torturing him to the point of physical and mental duress.
A 12-year-old girl and two women were hurt in the crash, cops said. Video by Ed Quinn (FreedomNewsTV)“I guess Google thinks it’s ok to torture someone across their entire Android O.S ecosystem system, no security updates for almost 4 years,” he wrote in a December 2021 post.
“America has fallen,” he wrote in a July 2020 post, which includes a video of him outside the NYPD’s 20th Precinct, where he showed up to file a complaint for cybercrime.
“The Constitution is Undermined by Big Tech. NYC Bureuracurcy [sic] is focused on using AI in wrong places especially Social Control, why look around you.”
A 2019 complaint filed by Bitton against Google in Brooklyn Supreme Court includes accusations that the company had “covert access to injure and harass” through his devices.
Suspect Jason Bitton was charged with three counts each of attempted assault, attempted reckless endangerment and attempted reckless driving, police said. Video by Ed Quinn (FreedomNewsTV)The complaint also reveals that Bitton was “diagnosed with extreme Photophobia” and made “multiple visits to the hospital for debilitating headaches, eye pain, spinal and body pain” because of the alleged “torture.”
A second court filing says that Bitton’s evidence includes “innocuous transcripts of oral recordings from alleged Google employees he provided livery services to as an Uber driver.”
That document also indicates that Bitton’s motions were denied.
A gas can, a pill bottle, clothing and the “Google tortured me” sign near the vehicle. Video by Ed Quinn (FreedomNewsTV)“While the court sympathizes with Mr. Bitton’s persisting injuries and physical ailments, he simply cannot bring his complaints in the present form,” the filing states.
Bitton was arrested in 2009 for allegedly shoving his mother and threatening to kill her with a knife inside their shared apartment, The Post reported at the time.
He was busted at the time on attempted assault charges and admitted to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, sources had said.
Additional reporting by Rthvika Suvarna
