An MTA bus driver has been arrested for allegedly beating a Queens college student with a baseball bat during a traffic skirmish on a New York City highway Monday morning.
David Garcia was arrested Wednesday on charges of misdemeanor assault and menacing following Monday's confrontation in Woodside, police tell NBC 4 New York.
Andrew Tejada, 23, of Woodside, told NBC 4 New York that he was headed to school and driving on Astoria Boulevard when he merged onto a ramp to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. A driver, allegedly Garcia, tried to cut ahead in front of him and became angry when he couldn't get in.
That driver got out of his car and approached Tejada.
"All I said to him was, 'There was nowhere to go, there's traffic, what do you want me to do?'" said Tejada. "He was so riled up. This man carried a baseball bat in the front seat of his car and tried to beat me out of nowhere."
Cellphone video taken by a witness and obtained exclusively by NBC 4 New York showed part of the confrontation as Tejada is heard shouting, "Stop it, stop it, please don't do this," while the assailant appears to drag him.
"He just put his hand on my face and went like that, like a cat, and just pulled the skin off my face," said Tejada, who was on crutches and scratched and bruised Monday evening.
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"I was in shock," he said. "I was fearing for my life."
Tejada was taken to the hospital with severe bruising, a broken ankle and scratches.
The MTA says Garcia was not on duty at the time of the attack. He has been removed from service as a bus driver. The MTA said he has worked with the agency since 2001.
It wasn't immediately clear if Garcia had an attorney.
