Driver recounts attack by stranger in Cohoes

COHOES – A driver says that a stranger attacked her car when her best friend and her little sister were in the car with her.

NewsChannel 13 is not identifying the woman. She said her car was stopped behind a line of cars at a railroad crossing on Columbia Street in Cohoes on December 30, when she saw a driver behind her get out.

“I noticed this man getting out of his vehicle. He approached my car, came up to the back passenger window. He was yelling, wasn’t making any sense, was screaming about church or something of that nature. As the seconds were going by, he started to get more aggressive and then started to punch and pound on the car windows,” said the woman.

The stranger tried to get into the car, she said.

“He was trying to open the door. He was punching– I’m surprised he honestly didn’t break the window, he was punching it very aggressively. And that’s when I called 911, because I didn’t know what he was going to do. So as we pulled into the alleyway, talking to the dispatcher — we were just going to sit there and hold tight and wait for the cops to get there — we noticed he had found us and he decided at that point to chase us down the alleyway. When I got to the end of the alleyway, there was a building in front of me, so I had to go left or right, and I knew I couldn’t make the turn, so I had to slow down, and he just accelerated and rear-ended us.”

She drove directly to the police station, where she was met by Cohoes Police Officer Jamie Kelly.

“All three of the passengers were frightened,” Officer Kelly said. “They came out, they were a little shaky. She was explaining what happened. She was very nervous because her younger sister was in the front seat.”

They were still talking when the call came in about the assault on Mohawk.

Tuesday, a Cohoes man told us how a stranger’s attack left him with a broken jaw and skull fractures.

Dustin Hallock, 29, of Cohoes is charged with felony assault. Police say he is responsible for both attacks.

“I’m just extremely grateful for the Cohoes police officer that assisted us and for them being able to catch him,” said the driver.

“That makes me feel very happy,” said Officer Kelly. “I’m grateful that I could help her and make her feel safe.”

Hallock was released to the supervision of probation after being arraigned on the felony assault charge, said police.