Staten Island woman says a man struck her in the face and keyed her car over a parking spot next to a dumpster. Now police are searching for him
A 25-year-old woman says she was struck in the face during a road rage incident on Staten Island earlier this month, after she pulled her car into what she thought was a parking spot. The event occurred on Forest Avenue in West Brighton, and parts of the encounter were captured on cellphone video, according to ABC. The situation started when the driver parked near a dumpster outside a Starbucks.
She said the suspect first threw a water bottle at her vehicle, and what began as a parking spot dispute quickly escalated from there. The victim chose not to fight back as she worried the man might have a weapon. She told reporters she had recently heard about a road rage shooting on the George Washington Bridge, and she had a baby waiting for her at home.
Another clip appears to show the suspect damaging the car. Voices yell, “He’s keying the car. He’s keying the car,” as someone urges the others to get his license plate. One woman can also be heard shouting, “I didn’t realize it wasn’t a spot!” Police said the suspect fled in a gray Honda Accord, and the victim and Kim Leo provided investigators with the footage. However, authorities have not publicly named the suspect. Leo said she hopes he is caught or turns himself in.
The man allegedly keyed the car while the women kept filming
Video clips show the heated exchange. One person is heard shouting, “You need to move your f— car!” before another voice asks, “Did you just put your hands on me?!” Investigators said the man reached inside the vehicle and hit the 25-year-old driver, who complained of pain but refused medical treatment.
The victim’s employer, Leo, posted the videos to social media, where the footage gained attention. Leo, who owns the vehicle and runs a catering business, explained that four of her female employees were using the car at the time. “I was enraged. I couldn’t believe a man, that a grown man would do this,” Kim Leo said.
The victim stayed in the car during the incident, which Leo attributed to genuine fear. “Usually, she’s a firecracker. For her to stay in the car, she was scared. She was really scared,” Leo said. Leo added that the victim thought the man had a weapon as he kept rummaging through his car.
Staying inside a locked car is exactly what AAA tells drivers to do
Her choice to stay seated lines up with AAA guidance, which tells drivers facing an angry motorist to avoid eye contact and stay in a locked vehicle. The organization also advises calling 911 if threatened. It recommends leaving room to pull out when parking, giving a driver an exit if someone approaches aggressively.
Road rage is far from rare in the U.S. A 2025 report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found 96% of drivers in a nationally representative survey admitted to aggressive driving or road rage behavior at least once in the previous year. However, a much smaller share, 11%, reported violent behavior.
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