A 77-year-old man was crushed to death by his own SUV after he accidentally left his car in drive when he got out to argue with another motorist over a Brooklyn parking spot, police said Monday.
Iosif Lontsman got into a dispute over a parking spot he was competing for on Ocean Ave. near Avenue W about 4:25 p.m. Thursday, according to cops.
He inadvertently left his Subaru Forester in drive when he got out to quarrel with a woman. He was struck by a rear wheel of his own vehicle and wound up wedged between his SUV and a Nissan Altima driven by a 43-year-old woman.
His Forester also struck a parked, unoccupied BMW X4 as it rolled forward.
Medics rushed Lontsman to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where he died from severe head and body injuries.
He was about a mile from home when he was crushed by his SUV. On Thursday, the man’s son received a call from a detective who told him his father was killed in the accident.
“[The detective] said that my father, he was on Ocean Ave., he stopped and was trying to back into a parking spot and there was a car coming from the other direction that took the spot,” said Mark Lontsman. “I can only imagine that he wanted to tell her, ‘Hey, that’s my spot.’”
Lontsman was left wondering how his father got himself into such a volatile situation.
“My father had his moments but he would not be looking to cause harm to anyone,” said Lontsman, 50. “But when he thought other people did wrong by him, he could get fiery.”
The man believes that had his father not gotten into the fatal encounter, he would have lived for “many more years.”
“I keep thinking of how many things had to go wrong for it to happen,” said Lontsman. “All of these things came together. If any one of those things did not happen he would be alive now.”
Iosif Lontsman, along with his wife and two sons, moved from Kazakhstan to New York City in 1989 as refugees.
“My mom was the initiator of the whole thing,” said Lontsman. “She said we had to take this opportunity while it’s here. We came and the doors closed behind us.”
In New York, Iosif Lontsman, a “jack of all trades,” searched for work while his wife, a successful biochemist, was able to continue her career in the city.
“Eventually he got a job from a landlord in Manhattan doing apartment renovations, and he continued on as an independent contractor,” said Lontsman.
Iosif Lontsman’s and his wife were married for 45 years before she died in 2016 after battling a long illness.
“They were both very close and they loved each other quite a bit,” said Lontsman. “No doubt about that.”
Iosif Lontsman often spent time watching his grandchildren, who planned to visit their grandfather’s apartment for Passover Seder on Saturday.
“This is a man who never lived his life for himself,” said Lontsman. “I know a lot of people say that, [but] he was always looking to help.
“Any time I needed him he would be there for me,” he added.
No one has been charged but police are still investigating the incident.
