A 33-year-old Gansevoort man is facing criminal charges after New York State Police said he pulled a gun on another driver during a road-rage confrontation on Interstate 787 in Watervliet. Matthew R. Kuznia was arrested following the encounter and has since been arraigned on multiple charges tied to the incident.
According to Daily Voice, troopers responded to a reported road-rage incident on October 18 after authorities say Kuznia pointed a weapon at another person while driving northbound on I-787. State police said the Capital Region man pulled the gun on another driver amid the dispute, though no one involved in the incident was reported injured.
Kuznia was arraigned in Watervliet City Court two days later, on October 20, facing charges of second-degree menacing, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment, per the same account. He was released on his own recognizance following the arraignment and, according to online records cited in the report, is due back in court Tuesday, October 27.
Watervliet's I-787 Corridor Has Seen Road Rage Turn Violent Before
This is not the first time an I-787 dispute in Watervliet has drawn state police attention. In January 2025, troopers responded to the same stretch of highway after Hernandez Mercado allegedly displayed a handgun during a separate road-rage incident, according to a New York State Police release.
In April 2024, state police arrested Nicholas J. Mcgraw, a 30-year-old Watervliet resident, on a third-degree assault charge following another road-rage incident in the same area, the agency said in a separate statement. Those two earlier cases involved different individuals and do not, on their own, establish a broader pattern along the corridor, but they underscore that confrontations on this particular highway segment have repeatedly escalated beyond words.
A Fatal Road-Rage Shooting at the George Washington Bridge
Road-rage incidents involving weapons have drawn scrutiny elsewhere in the state as well. Earlier this week, a retired detective was arrested in connection with an apparent road-rage shooting at the George Washington Bridge that killed 46-year-old Koran Irvine, according to The New York Times.
No further details about Kuznia's case, including whether he has entered a plea, have been made public. He remains due back in Watervliet City Court next Tuesday.
