A road rage incident turned deadly when a man arguing with another driver on Wednesday in Manhattan was mowed down and killed after he pulled out a knife and slashed the tires of his rival’s car, police and witnesses say.
A fender bender, described by a law enforcement source as a “love tap,” between a gray Chevy Silverado and a gray Volkswagen Jetta sparked violence on E. 60th St. between Park and Lexington Aves. on the Upper East around 4 p.m.
“It was a scratch,” a police source said. “It was a love tap. You could barely see the damage.
The 54-year-old Silverado van driver got out of his vehicle with a knife near the Oxford Cafe mid-block on E. 60th and began stabbing the rear tires of the Volkswagen that hit him , as captured by surveillance video seen by the Daily News.
The Jetta driver’s wife and two children were in the car when it was attacked.
The knife-wielding assailant then walked to the front of the Volkswagen sedan and faced the driver.
That’s when the Volkswagen driver started it up and knocked it over, throwing it through the front window of the Midtown restaurant.
Tailor Jorge Hernandez was returning to his shop above Oxford when he witnessed the attack.
“There was an accident in the cafe,” he said. “The gentleman was on the ground. I can’t believe he knocked it over.
The Jetta continued to move forward, pinning the man under the car.
“He was yelling at the guy under the car,” Hernandez said. “He was under the bumper from the chest down. He was still conscious. He was trying to reach for his cell phone.
A group of people helped lift the man’s car and pulled him out, Hernandez said.
The victim was taken to Weill Cornell Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver of the Jetta has been taken into custody, but has not yet been charged.
The two children in the Volkswagen were also taken to Weill Cornell Hospital as a precaution.
Hernandez said he was stunned by the brutality of it all.
“It was crazy,” Hernandez said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”