A chaotic incident unfolded when a mother and her daughter aggressively confronted a woman driver over a parking spot in Queens, an altercation captured in a widely circulated video.
Andreea Dumitru, 45, and her 21-year-old daughter Sabrina Starman were seen assaulting 21-year-old McPherson, a student at Pace College, who was simply trying to park on Ridgewood Street. The video shows them pulling her hair and hurling punches while using racial slurs.
“They were literally trying to tear my hair off my scalp,” McPherson later recounted.
The confrontation erupted when McPherson attempted to claim a parking space that Dumitru and Starman were defending near 18-28 Putnam Avenue. An unidentified man joined in against McPherson but left before police arrived.
“He used a trash can to block my parking,” McPherson stated.
After failing to find another spot, she returned to the area and told her family that the parking was not theirs to defend. At that moment, the man reacted aggressively, which prompted Dumitru and Starman to unleash a barrage of racist insults toward McPherson.
“You’re a monkey, you’re a bitch,” Dumitru could be heard yelling in the video.
To that, McPherson shot back, “You’re an immigrant, a bitch.”
The insults escalated until Starman yelled, “You’re a slave, a bitch. You’re a slave of what it’s worth.”
McPherson expressed, “I definitely feared for my life.”
Following the incident, both Starman and Dumitru were arrested and charged with first-degree assault and second-degree harassment, authorities reported.
After her ordeal, McPherson eventually parked in the disputed spot but shared that she’s been more cautious, opting to go out only with friends or family. She plans to move out of the neighborhood soon.
“It’s really not right to jump one person for a parking space,” she remarked.
Tensions around parking have been escalating in the area, with locals claiming public spots as their own, often using traffic cones to reserve them. Residents voiced their frustrations about the ongoing conflict over parking.
“I could move the trash cans, but they might vandalize my car,” said Yesia Delgado, who has lived in the neighborhood for 14 years.
George Carrasquillo, another resident, mentioned that he often struggles to find parking and has to park blocks away from his home, leading to additional inconveniences.
Starman and Dumitru have sought legal representation and are scheduled to face court in September, with their lawyer stating that instigating violence doesn’t make them victims.
Since the video surfaced, the mother and daughter claim they have received threats against their lives.
