Man Punched 77-Year-Old Senior After Car Crash At Bergen County Mall: Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Bronx man has been charged with aggravated assault for punching a 77-year-old man following a car crash in Bergen County — landing the latter in the hospital for two months, prosecutors say.

Prosecutor Mark Musella announced on Thursday the arrest of 29-year-old Efrain Escobar on charges of aggravated assault and endangering an injured person.

The arrest was the result of a months-long investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Fort Lee Police Department.

Prosecutors said that on Monday, April 8, 2024, at approximately 7:14 p.m., the Fort Lee Police Department responded to a report of an assault at the Plaza West Mall on Bergen Boulevard.

A suspect had fled the scene, and a 77-year-old man was found injured, prosecutors said. He was taken via ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center, prosecutors said.

He was put into a medically induced coma for approximately two months, prosecutors said.

"The investigation revealed that a minor motor vehicle collision occurred between the 77-year-old male victim and the suspect," prosecutors said. "After a brief verbal altercation, the suspect assaulted the victim by punching him in the face, knocking him unconscious and leaving him incapacitated. Detectives concluded that the suspect was a stranger to the victim, with the attack occurring in connection to the accident and was otherwise unprovoked."

The prosecutor's office, Fort Lee police, New York City police, and FBI agents arrested Escobar at his residence in the Bronx on Wednesday. He was charged with second-degree aggravated assault and third-degree endangering an injured person.

He's being held in federal custody in New York State awaiting extradition to Bergen County, prosecutors said.