A Brooklyn, New York, man is facing federal arson charges after he allegedly threw an explosive device into a Verizon company car in a traffic accident earlier this year.
Kevindale Nurse, who was driving a white minivan with his 4-year-old son in it, allegedly drove erratically before clipping a Verizon utility vehicle in the Jan. 31 incident, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which unsealed the indictment Thursday.
The nurse then opened the door of the minivan and allegedly threw an explosive device into the driver’s side window of the Verizon van, causing an explosion inside the vehicle, federal officials said.
The 36-year-old was arrested in New York City on Thursday.
The two repairmen suffered multiple injuries and their van was extensively damaged by the explosion. Verizon employees were working on high-speed data lines and fiber optic equipment at the time.
This photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, shows a Verizon van that was damaged and two workers injured when lit fireworks were thrown into an apparent traffic accident, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Courtesy of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York via AP
“As alleged, the nurse intentionally threw an explosive device into the window of another vehicle on a public highway, endangering the lives of the vehicle’s occupants and others in the area,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, road rage is an all too common occurrence in our communities,” he continued. “But this dangerous and senseless attack at a busy intersection in the heart of Brooklyn was beyond the pale.”
He pleaded not guilty and was denied bail in his first court appearance on Thursday.
If convicted, the nurse faces seven to 40 years in prison.
“There is no place in civil society for the spread of fear through intimidation, violence and destruction,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said in a statement.
Jeff Dahlberg, the nurse’s court-appointed attorney, said he had no comment at this time.