Road rage erupted on a Bronx street yesterday when an angry motorist fired a gun – loaded with harmless paintballs – at a livery cab after a traffic confrontation, cops said.
Cabby Rafael Martinez, 55, an émigré from the Dominican Republic and father of five who livesin Yonkers, had a disagreement with the driver of a green Ford van shortly before 6 a.m. as he was preparing to drop off a passenger in front of 33004 Waterbury Ave., police said.
Police said as Martinez headed south in his Lincoln Continental on the Bruckner Expressway service road, the driver of the van began cutting him off – with Martinez returning the favor.
When Martinez stopped for a light, the van driver got out of his vehicle and tried to pull Martinez from his Lincoln, cops said.
“I pushed him away and we stopped struggling and I drove off,” Martinez said.
Martinez, who denied antagonizing the van driver, said he drove himself and his passenger about a mile — going through at least eight red lights — in a frantic bid to elude his assailant.
During the chase, Martinez said, he and his passenger heard the gun discharging — and believed they were being fired upon by a crazy man with a real gun.