A Long Island man is accused of stabbing another driver and biting their fingers in a Tuesday afternoon road rage incident.
The attack happened in Huntington around 3:45 p.m. when a Jeep Cherokee tried to pass a Mercedes cargo van on West Neck Road near Old Hickory Lane, according to Suffolk County police. The Jeep hit the van and both vehicles stopped.
The driver of the Jeep, later identified as 26-year-old Jayson Heitner, then allegedly approached the 60-year-old van driver with a box cutter, slashing his face and body and biting his fingers during a physical altercation.
The victim, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital for treatment of serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Heitner has been charged with second-degree assault. He said during his courtroom arraignment on Wednesday that he was acting in self-defense after the victim pulled a knife.
Heitner’s attorney said he intends to testify during grand jury and expects he’ll be exonerated.
Bail was set at $75,000.
Heitner is a first responder and Touro College grad student, according to NBC New York.
Detectives ask anyone with information to contact the Second Squad at 631-854-8252.
In a separate incident in Suffolk County on Tuesday , a passenger in a car flashed “what appeared to be a weapon” at a driver behind the wheel of another car in Shirley during a suspected road rage case before speeding away. No other information about the type of weapon was released. No arrests have been made.
