A former Long Island taxi driver attacked a dispatcher with an ax and nearly killed him, authorities said Thursday.
Anthony Calvo, 34, was charged with attempted murder and assault for the Feb. 13 attack in Long Beach, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office said in a press release.
“A past workplace disagreement spurred this alleged horrific unprovoked attack that left a man with catastrophic injuries and clinging to life,” District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in the release.
The victim was identified only as a 60-year-old man who worked as a dispatcher at Long Beach Taxi. Calvo worked as a driver for the taxi service until 2022, according to investigators.
Calvo spotted the victim walking home from an overnight shift just before 6 a.m. on Feb. 13, police said. He ran up behind the dispatcher and struck him at least three times with an ax, in the face, head and arm, according to authorities.
The dispatcher miraculously made it home and called for help, cops said. He needed multiple surgeries due to massive injuries to his head and jaw and “still faces a substantial risk of death” the district attorney’s office wrote.
Though Calvo was not initially detained after the attack, investigators identified him as a suspect and officers arrested him on March 12.
“This brutal, senseless attack will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and we will get justice for this victim,” Donnelly said.
