Elmy Manuel Sandoval-Firpo, 28, is facing attempted murder and other charges after a road-rage dispute that began at a Yonkers gas station and continued onto Interstate 87, where police say he rammed another vehicle and opened fire. He was arrested September 13 after the alleged confrontation, a pursuit and a collision involving a police cruiser.
According to Daily Voice, police say the dispute began shortly before 4:30 p.m. as Sandoval-Firpo and a 25-year-old Bronx man driving a Subaru Impreza turned into a gas station on Tuckahoe Road. After Sandoval-Firpo allegedly cut off the Subaru, the two argued in the parking lot, where police say he smashed the car's rear windshield. Both vehicles then returned to the roadway.
New York State Police said highway surveillance footage showed Sandoval-Firpo's van moving from the center lane into the left lane on southbound I-87 near the Cross County Parkway and cutting off the Subaru, causing a collision, according to the outlet. Police allege that Sandoval-Firpo then left the van, fired at the other vehicle and drove away. No injuries were reported.
Chase Ends With Flat Tire Near Cross County Parkway
Yonkers police pursued the van, and authorities say Sandoval-Firpo struck a marked police cruiser during the chase. The pursuit ended on southbound I-87 when the van developed a flat tire. Yonkers police and New York State Police arrested him at the scene, according to the same account.
State Enforcement Figures Put Highway Risk in Context
The available statewide figures do not establish how common aggressive-driving crashes are, but they provide a recent snapshot of traffic enforcement. According to the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee and Department of Motor Vehicles, agencies issued 50,417 tickets during an Independence Day enforcement campaign from June 29 through July 5, 2026, including 8,170 speeding tickets and 1,576 impaired-driving tickets. The figures identify speeding and impaired driving among the behaviors targeted during the campaign, but they are citation totals rather than a count of aggressive-driving crashes.
State police say Sandoval-Firpo faces charges including second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree menacing, criminal possession of a firearm, and second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He also received several traffic citations related to the pursuit.
Steep Prison Exposure Under State Sentencing Law
The charges carry significant weight under New York law. Attempted second-degree murder is classified as a Class B violent felony under New York Penal Law § 110.00 and § 125.25, carrying a potential sentence of up to 25 years in state prison upon conviction, according to the Law Offices of Mehdi Essmidi P.L.L.C. Separately, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon under Penal Law § 265.03 is a Class C violent felony carrying a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 3.5 years and a maximum of 15 years for first-time offenders, per the Law Office of Cory Garcia, P.C.
Sandoval-Firpo was arraigned in Yonkers City Court and remanded to Westchester County Jail, held in lieu of $20,000 cash bail, a $50,000 bond, or a $75,000 partially secured bond, and the court also issued an order of protection for the victim, according to Patch. He is due back in court for a felony hearing on Friday.
That hearing date is tied to a strict statutory clock. Under New York Criminal Procedure Law § 180.80, prosecutors must conduct a felony hearing or secure a grand jury indictment within 120 to 144 hours of a remanded defendant's arrest, or the court must order the defendant's release on recognizance, according to the NYC Criminal Attorneys law firm.
Suspect Has Prior Brush With Law Enforcement
Sandoval-Firpo is not unknown to police in the region. In October 2019, a 21-year-old Elmy Sandoval of Yonkers was arrested by Westport Police in Connecticut and charged with sixth-degree larceny and conspiracy after officers caught him siphoning used cooking oil from behind a local business into large tanks, according to Patch. He was arrested alongside an accomplice after officers observed oil-covered clothing and equipment during a traffic stop.
A Dangerous Pattern Along the Same Highway Stretch
This is not the first violent road rage case to hit this particular stretch of highway. In December 2022, New York State Police investigated a separate violent road rage assault near Exit 6 at Tuckahoe Road on I-87 South in Yonkers that left two motorists hospitalized in stable condition, with troopers soliciting public help after the nighttime attack, according to a separate Patch report.
The corridor sees enormous traffic volume that makes any confrontation there especially dangerous. High-volume segments of I-87 running through Yonkers handle over 150,000 vehicles daily near key interchanges including Tuckahoe Road and the Cross County Parkway, according to research compiled by AEE Law, since the highway serves as a primary commuter artery linking Westchester County and New York City.
State police have been ramping up enforcement against aggressive driving elsewhere on the system as well. During a single-day enforcement detail on the New York State Thruway earlier this year, troopers issued 535 traffic citations, including 224 for speeding, in response to a surge in highway collisions, as reported by Finger Lakes Daily News. That crackdown also led to multiple DWI arrests and commercial vehicle safety impounds.
