A 77-year-old nursing home patient died after a fight with a worker at the Bronx home where he was staying, authorities say.
University Nursing Home worker Cherrylee Young, 41, was charged Monday with criminally negligent homicide and felony assault, among other crimes, after patient Frank Mercado died following the altercation at the Grand Avenue home last week.
Police said Young allegedly punched Mercado multiple times, causing him to fall to the ground. His body was impaled by a piece of metal protruding from a broken table, authorities said, and he later died.
Neither Young nor her attorney spoke at her arraignment Monday.
In a statement, University Nursing Home acknowledged Mercado's death with "profound regret" and extended its condolences to his family.
"The University Nursing Home, which has a five-star rating from Medicare.gov and an exemplary health care history, is assisting the NYPD and the Medical Examiner in their investigation of this matter," the statement said.
The nursing home said Mercado had lived at its 46-bed facility in University Heights for four years.
