A 25-year-old Staten Island woman says a man she knew from the neighborhood reached into her SUV and punched her in the face during a road rage confrontation that unfolded in a West Brighton shopping-center parking lot, all while her coworkers watched in fear. The encounter, which played out around 10 a.m. on Nov. 1 near the intersection of Forest Avenue and Bard Avenue, was partly captured on cellphone video that has since circulated widely online.
According to ABC7 New York, the woman told Eyewitness News the dispute began after she unknowingly pulled into what she believed was a parking spot next to a dumpster. She said the man threw a water bottle at her vehicle and that he kept rummaging through his own car during the standoff, which only heightened her fear that he might be armed. Police say the suspect ultimately fled the scene in a gray Honda Accord.
A separate account from silive.com identifies the employee as Tiffany C., one of two workers from Kitchen by Kim Cooks who were parked in the lot outside 480 Forest Ave. when the confrontation broke out. “He connected, of course he connected. His hand touched me,” Tiffany said, describing the moment the man reached through the SUV’s open driver-side window. She said he threw the water bottle at the vehicle before her coworker started filming.
Four Coworkers, One Terrifying Morning
Four female employees were using the vehicle belonging to Kim Leo, the victim’s employer, when the incident occurred, per ABC7. The video allegedly shows the suspect damaging the vehicle during the clash. The woman told Eyewitness News she chose not to confront the man herself because she feared he might have a weapon, a fear she said was heightened after seeing recent reports of a road rage shooting on the George Washington Bridge.
She also told the station she had a baby waiting for her at home, underscoring why she stayed inside the car rather than get out. Leo said the woman stayed in the vehicle throughout the encounter because she was scared. Leo, who said she provides respite care for two of the girls involved, both of whom attend high school, said she was enraged by the footage and felt as though the incident had happened to her own child.
Video Spreads Online as Investigation Continues
Leo posted the video to social media, and according to Leo, it quickly gained widespread attention online after the Kitchen by Kim Cooks account shared it, per the same silive.com account. The victim and Leo provided the footage to investigators and said police had the vehicle’s license plate number, though the man has not been publicly identified.
As of Nov. 4, the station’s report notes there had been no arrests and the investigation remained ongoing, with Tiffany and Leo saying they had filed a police report and formal complaint. ABC7’s Cefaan Kim reported live from Staten Island on the case as it continues to draw attention across the borough.
Part of a Pattern of Road Rage Cases on Staten Island
This is far from the only road rage case to rattle Staten Island in recent memory. In 2023, authorities alleged that a 37-year-old Todt Hill man, Rashed Rashed, pointed a gun at and threatened a driver, leading to weapon-possession, menacing and harassment charges, according to silive.com. In 2025, authorities alleged a 28-year-old driver used a van to strike a victim in a separate Graniteville road rage incident, the outlet also reported.
And in another Staten Island case detailed by NBC New York, a retired NYPD officer shot a 45-year-old man in the torso after the man allegedly threatened him with a machete following a vehicle collision in Arden Heights, despite the outlet noting crime rates in the area had dropped by nearly 13%. Beyond the borough, prosecutors say a near-collision during a lane change as the drivers approached the George Washington Bridge preceded a fatal shooting on the bridge last month, with Victor Romero arraigned on a manslaughter charge in the death of Koran Irvine, according to The New York Times.
