A 77-year-old died after being run over by his own car during an alleged argument about a parking space.
According to the New York Post, Iosif Lontsman, a 77-year-old grandfather, was accidentally run over and killed by his own Subaru Forester after he got out to confront another motorist on the road on Thursday (April 25) in New York City.
The pair were allegedly caught up in a heated argument over a parking space at Avenue W and Ocean Avenue in Sheepshead Bay at around 4:30PM when the tragedy happened, as confirmed by sources as well as a preliminary report filed by the New York Police Department.
The report stated that Lontsman left his car in drive before exiting it to engage with the other driver, a younger woman, when his car started rolling before hitting him and the Nissan, where it eventually came to a stop.
Sources at the scene confirmed that the 77-year-old was pinned between the two vehicles, suffering injuries to his head as well as his legs.
He was unresponsive and unconscious when first responders reached the scene.
Lontsman was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn where he was pronounced dead, the Post added.
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Footage from surveillance cameras showed the incident playing out, which aided the authorities with their investigation.
So far, no arrests related to the accident have been made.
Speaking of the incident, Lontsman's son Mark stated that the family found it hard to accept the news of their loved one's death.
“We all find that it’s just very hard to accept what is being told to us,” the son said. “He was a person who was dedicated to his family,” Mark added, describing his father as "selfless."
“He was always doing stuff for his family and friends, for other people,” he told the outlet.
The family immigrated to the United States in 1989 from the old Soviet Union in hopes of a better life.
"It was a difficult life for all of us,” he said. "I was still a teenager, as was my brother, so my dad and my mom at the time, they worked to build a new life in this country."
Lontsman is survived by his two sons and two grandchildren, who are aged 12 and seven. His wife passed away eight years ago.
