A 61-year-old man was punched in the face by a 30-year-old tow truck driver during a parking argument in Brooklyn on Saturday night, causing him to fall to his death on the sidewalk.
Officials said the deadly fight occurred at the Shell gas station at 1143 Clarkson Ave. in Brownsville around 8:45 p.m.
The argument “became physical,” and the tow truck driver punched the elderly man in the face, causing him to “tumble and hit the sidewalk,” police said.
A friend of the victim, who identified him as Carlyle Thomas, said Sunday morning that the victim lives right next to the station and sometimes parks temporarily in the gas station parking lot. .
On Saturday evening, someone called Thomas to warn him that the gas station manager had called a tow truck and impounded his car, the friend said.
“He came running. When he opened the tow truck door, a guy hit him in the head. He fell down and bang!” the tipster said.
“Dead. He dies right in front of Pump 6. He never touches the guy, he just touches the door and the guy comes out and punches him.
“He’s a cool guy. He has a young son. Why would they do that to him! One punch? Kill him?!”
Dominic Graham, 37, the victim’s nephew, said his family was planning to come to the apartment on Sunday morning after receiving the “tough” news.
“He was a good guy. He was the neighborhood boss around here. He knew everyone. And everyone from the gas station to 93rd Street knew him. Everybody.” Graham talked about his uncle, who trained and fed horses at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.
“He was shocked because he thought the gas station staff were cool because he was always there, helping people with things like unpacking sodas and chips and stuff like that. He considered them friends, not because they worked, but just because they were hanging out with buddies or something.”
Paramedics responded to the scene and transported Thomas to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center. According to police, he was pronounced dead at 9:17 p.m.
The tow truck driver was taken into custody at the scene and charges are pending, the NYPD said.
