Bronx man charged in Fort Lee fight that left victim in coma for two months
A Bronx man was arrested Tuesday and accused of putting a man in a coma for two months in an assault that followed a Fort Lee car crash, officials said.
Authorities said the alleged assault happened April 8 at about 7:14 p.m., as Fort Lee police responded to the Plaza West Mall on Bergen Boulevard. The suspect had fled, but officers found a 77-year-old victim who was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center.
The victim suffered serious bodily injury and was in a medically induced coma for nearly two months.
According to the investigation, conducted jointly by the Fort Lee Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, a minor car crash between the victim and the suspect led to a brief verbal altercation. The suspect then allegedly punched the victim in the face, knocking him unconscious. Detectives determined the suspect was a stranger to the victim and that the attack was otherwise unprovoked, police said.
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On Tuesday, Efrain Escobar was charged with second-degree aggravated assault and third-degree endangering an injured person. The following day, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Fort Lee Police Department, with assistance from the New York City Police Department and FBI New York Safe Streets Task Force, arrested Escobar at his Bronx residence.
He is being held in federal custody in New York, pending extradition to Bergen County.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fort Lee NJ fight that left victim in coma leads to charges
