Queens Road Rage Assault Leaves Four Injured

A dispute over a coveted parking spot turned violent on Monday after an enraged driver attempted to run over his adversaries and ended up plowing into a new bakery along Kissena Boulevard in Flushing Queens. At least four people were injured in the road rage attack.

A New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson said the road rage assault unfolded around 2 p.m., when two motorists driving a BMW had an argument with the driver and passenger of a white Audi with New Jersey plates that was double parked in the area.

Surveillance video shows the four involved engaging in a brawl at the curbside. One of the assailants swings his baseball bat at another man identified by the police as 24-year-old Jie Zou. At one point, Zou gets into his Audi A6 and attempts to run over the man with the bat but the bat-wielding man follows him and strikes his car.

The video shows the driver then appearing to floor his vehicle and strike the man. In the process, he jumps the curb and falls through the window of Rainbow Bakery, which was celebrating its grand opening that day.

Police said three women and a man were brought to the hospital with no life-threatening injuries after the incident. An employee of Rainbow Bakery was also struck by a shard of glass during the attack. Zou was charged with assault and reckless endangerment. The passenger in his car, 35-year-old Jonathan Zhang, was also charged with assault.

“I’m so sad,” said Rainbow Bakery owner John Lo. “It’s unbelievable,” he added. He also revealed that the attack left most of his new merchandise damaged.

Meanwhile, some Queens parking devotees said the motorist-on-motorist violence should be expected under the citywide plan to install a 0.3-mile busway along the corridor between Northern Boulevard and Sanford Avenue.

“What happened yesterday is a little appetizer of what’s going to happen, but even worse,” said driver and activist Andy Chen. “The Department of Transportation and Mayor’s Office bear responsibility for what actually happened,” he added.