Road Rage Incident Ends in Hospital, Arrest

In what Tarrytown Lieutenant William Herguth called "apparently a case of road rage," the man who was injured in a dispute between two drivers was also the one who ended up being arrested.

On Jan. 6 at 12:04 p.m., a caller  requested an ambulance for a man complaining of elbow and leg pain. Officers at the scene report the man said he was struck by a car on Highland while crossing the roadway. He said he then chased the car but lost sight of it on Hamilton Place. He described the car as a black Toyota Camry 4D. Tarrytown Volunteer Ambulance Corps transported the injured man to Westchester County Medical Center for his injuries.

Meanwhile, officers at headquarters reported that the other man in question had come to headquarters. This man said that he was attacked on Benedict Avenue during a motorist dispute.

Police were able to piece together from these competing stories, said Herguth, that “something happened between two drivers on Benedict Avenue near Highland Street where the person who was eventually arrested got out and confronted the other driver.”

The other driver reported that the man identified as Joseph M. Viera, 30, of Sleepy Hollow, reached into his car to grab him. When the driver started to drive away, Viera “may have been struck by the mirror,” said Herguth.

Viera then chased the car and allegedly pounded his fists on the car hood. Somehow in the process of these altercations, Viera claimed that he had hurt his elbow, said Herguth.

What police heard "was enough to arrest that person,” said Herguth, on a charge of third degree menacing.

There were no other witnesses, said Herguth, “so we’re just going on what they’re telling us."

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