NEW YORK — A New York City driver has been arrested and charged with throwing fireworks into a Verizon truck, injuring two employees in what was believed to be a sign of road rage, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Kevindale Nurse, 36, was driving a commuter van in the Brooklyn borough around 7:30 p.m. on January 31 when he lost contact with the Verizon van, according to authorities.
Surveillance video captured him driving erratically, pulling his van up next to the Verizon vehicle, opening his door and throwing the explosive into the driver’s side window of the truck, prosecutors said. Nurse, who was with his 4-year-old son, then sped off through a red light.
The two Verizon workers suffered multiple injuries, including ringing in their ears, hearing loss and neck and back pain, prosecutors said. Their vehicle also sustained extensive damage, including a shattered windshield and deployed airbags.
The Brooklyn resident, who declined to comment through his attorney, was arrested Thursday morning after a federal indictment unsealed him, charging him with arson. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody later Thursday during a hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement that the “dangerous and senseless attack at a busy intersection in the heart of Brooklyn was incomprehensible.”
Prosecutors asked the court to detain Nurse because he posed a grave danger to the community. They noted that he could have caused even greater harm and possibly death, since the van was loaded with equipment used to repair high-speed fiber optic cables.
They also said Nurse has prior convictions for crimes including attempted reckless endangerment and aggravated assault without a license.
Prosecutors say the nurse faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years and a maximum sentence of 40 years if found guilty on the latest charges.
Dollar vans, many of which are unlicensed, compete with taxis and limousines to fill the gaps in New York City’s public transportation system.