THE BRONX — A man was chased down and stabbed to death for flipping the bird at a group of motorists who had pulled off the road after an unrelated car crash in Eastchester Tuesday night, police said.
Billy Sierra, 25, of Pelham, was in a Honda speeding past a Toyota Camry at Hollers and Huguenot avenues about 6 p.m. when he gave the finger to the group, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
The people on the side of the road then hopped in their car, which had previously been sideswiped by another vehicle, and chased the Honda about a block to Hollers Avenue and Eastchester Place, where both drivers pulled over, police said.
Juan Garcia, 47, of Eastchester, got out of the Toyota asked who flipped him off before stabbing Sierra in the chest, police said.
Sierra's friends managed to drive him about a mile to a strip mall at Boston Road and Pelhamdale Avenue, where they called for help, officials and witnesses said.
Sierra was able to get out of the car but collapsed on the ground, witnesses said.
"He was just lying on the floor, face down. He wasn't moving," said Arthur Mendola, 63, who'd been out celebrating his birthday and stopped at a nearby pizzeria to grab a Sicilian slice for his son.
"There were some people around him, some people cops were interviewing. You could tell they were upset. They were waving their arms. They were young kids. He was 25, but the kids he was with looked even younger — maybe 20 or 18," Mendola said.
Emergency responders eventually took Sierra to Jacobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Police later arrested Garcia and charged him with second-degree murder, manslaughter and weapons possession, the NYPD said.
Mendola, who lives near the stabbing scene, was shocked by the murder.
"That was really nerve-racking, knowing he got stabbed right by my house. [Something like this has] never happened in my whole life. I've been living here for 50 years," he said.
"I couldn't believe it. Me and the neighbors were upset. It happened early in the evening. Kids were out playing in the street," Mendola added.
