A New York City man who allegedly pushed an Army veteran into the path of an oncoming vehicle could face up to 25 years in prison.
Yomar Moran, 20, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Hassan Jones, who served tours in Kuwait and Iraq, the New York Daily News reported.
It started when Jones got involved in a fender-bender with a Nissan Murano SUV on the Grand Central Parkway.
Police said Jones and the other driver exchanged insurance information and went their separate ways.
Shortly after the exchange, the unidentified driver called Moran, the vehicle’s owner, and told him to follow Jones’s vehicle, according to court documents.
Moran allegedly cut off Jones further down the highway near 49th Avenue in Corona, Queens, and forced Jones to stop on the shoulder.
Moran got out of the vehicle with a screwdriver in his hand and demanded money, court records show.
Jones got out of his Infiniti and approached Moran, who allegedly punched him in the face.
Moran had taken the victim’s gold chain and belt clip before he fled the scene, police said.
Moments after Moran fled, an Acura struck Jones while he was unconscious, dragging him more than 300 feet.
Starlyn Colon-Burgess, 19, was reportedly driving the Acura and crashed into another vehicle on the highway, ditched his car, and fled the scene.
Police caught up with Colon-Burgess and charged him with leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Authorities released Burgess from custody on bail, CBS New York reported.
Jones died at the scene.
Four days after the fatal crash, police charged Moran with second-degree murder, manslaughter, robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon.
A judge ordered Moran held on $500,000 bond.
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