NYC driver charged with throwing a lit firework into a utility truck and injuring 2 workers
A New York City driver has been arrested and charged with tossing a lit firework into a Verizon utility truck and injuring two workers in an apparent act of road rage
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
A New York City driver has been arrested and charged with tossing a lit firework into a Verizon utility truck and injuring two workers in an apparent act of road rage, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Kevindale Nurse, 36, was driving a commuter “dollar van" in the city borough of Brooklyn at around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 when authorities say surveillance video captured him driving erratically, stopping his van next to the Verizon vehicle, opening his door and throwing the explosive device into the truck's driver’s side window.
Nurse, who was with his 4-year-old-son, then sped away through a red right.
The two Verizon workers sustained multiple injuries, including tinnitus, hearing loss and neck and back pain, according to prosecutors. Their vehicle was also extensively damaged, including a shattered windshield and deployed airbags.
The Brooklyn resident, who declined to comment through his lawyer, was arrested Thursday morning after an indictment was unsealed in federal court charging him with arson. He was scheduled to make his initial appearance in Brooklyn federal court later Thursday.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement that the “dangerous and senseless attack on a busy intersection in the heart of Brooklyn was beyond the pale.”
Prosecutors asked the court to detain Nurse as a significant danger to the community, noting he could have caused more extensive damage and potentially death as the utility van was full of equipment used to repair high-speed fiber optic data lines.
They also said Nurse has prior felony convictions, including attempted reckless endangerment and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle charges.
Nurse faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years in prison and a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted of the latest charges, according to prosecutors.
Dollar vans, many of them unlicensed, compete against taxis and limousines to fill transit gaps across New York City.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.