Police are looking for a man they say repeatedly punched and pushed a woman more than twice his age, causing her to fall to the pavement, after some sort of confrontation on the road in Queens earlier this month, authorities say.
The 69-year-old woman was getting out of a vehicle on Ninth Street in Astoria shortly before 5 p.m. Oct. 1 when she got into an argument with a man she didn't know who was sitting in his own vehicle, behind her, police said.
"He leaned on the horn and I said, 'Just give me a minute, I got equipment.' He started saying words to me and beeping on the horn," the woman, who did not want to be identified, told NBC New York.
The dispute quickly escalated into a physical confrontation, which was captured by surveillance cameras. Footage shows the woman put down her bag near the sidewalk as she and the man, still in his vehicle, apparently exchange words.
"As I was putting down mu heavy equipment, he hit me in the back of the head with a water bottle," she said. The woman then picked up the bottle and tossed it back at the irate driver.
Then he suddenly gets out of the driver's side door and slugs her as she puts her hand in the air to ward off the blows. She tries to fight back and he shoves her backward, at which point she falls to the ground. She gets up as he drives off.
"He pushed me back so hard that I fell over my equipment," the woman said. "He rushed out of the car so fast, I didn't expect it, you know. So it was like one to push me over the edge."
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It's not clear what prompted the initial argument. The woman refused medical attention at the scene, though she suffered pain and bruising, police said. She said she was sore for a few days and had to miss work, but didn't regret fighting back to stand up for herself.
"I don't let anybody push me around because, I'm just an independent woman," she said.
Anyone with information on the man in the video, who is thought to be between 20 and 30 years old, is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
