Bethpage man punched Uber driver during ride, say cops

A Bethpage man was charged with assault after allegedly punching an Uber driver, Nassau police said Wednesday.

On Nov. 26 at 3 a.m., Christopher Antonacci, 22, another man and a woman were picked up by a 40-year-old male Uber driver in Melville, and were bound for Bethpage, according to police.

The Uber driver, who was not identified, refused a request to stop at a store while driving south on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway near Old Country Road.

That led Antonacci to begin punching the driver in the head, police said.

The driver continued the trip and was punched again multiple times in the head after his passengers ordered him to take the Plainview Road exit ramp in Bethpage.

The three passengers then were “let out” of the car and fled on foot, police said.

The driver was treated at a hospital for swelling and bruising to his head, police said. He later told police that racial slurs were used during the assault.

Antonacci, who was charged with assault and harassment, will be arraigned Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead.