Arrest in Mastic road rage incident that led to stabbing of driver, police say

A Mastic man was arrested and charged Tuesday after he allegedly stabbed a fellow motorist during a road rage incident, police said.

The encounter occurred between a driver and a passenger of two different vehicles traveling Ditmas Avenue in Mastic, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a news release. The vehicles pulled over and the two men left their vehicles. Following a verbal exchange, the passenger, Jeremiah Giraud, 25, stabbed the driver, 71, in the neck with a knife about 9:10 a.m., police said.

Giraud returned to his respective vehicle, a 2005 Nissan, and the wounded driver headed west, police said. The driver was transported to a hospital with injuries not considered life threatening.

After hearing a description of the Nissan, Suffolk patrol officers found the Nissan in the parking lot of Family Dollar on Montauk Highway in Mastic and subsequently located Giraud in the store, the release said.

Police arrested and charged Giraud with second-degree assault. He is expected to be held overnight at the department’s Seventh Precinct in Shirley ahead of his Wednesday arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip. Defense attorney information for him was not immediately available late Tuesday.