Mahopac, NY +Parking Rage+

Mahopac, NY - A shopkeeper got so angry about the way a man had parked his car that he climbed into a forklift, placed the fork under the car and lifted it off the ground.

W. Safrah, 51, of Ossining, also punched out both the offending car and the man who parked it, said Lt. Brian Karst of the Carmel police. He was arrested on charges of criminal mischief and assault.

Karst said the episode was at a strip mall on Route 6 in Mahopac. Safrah felt the car, though legally parked, was blocking his access to a storage container or trash bin and got into a heated argument with the driver, who was an employee of another store and was no longer in the car.  Safrah then punched the side of the vehicle, denting it. Then he took the controls of a forklift in the parking lot, maneuvered its lifting mechanism under the car and lifted it upward. The car was not moved out of the parking spot, however.  
After lifting the car, Safrah punched the driver in the mouth. The victim was injured but not seriously, Karst said.

The car was eventually lowered from the forklift.  Safrah was released pending an appearance in Carmel Town Court, still to be scheduled.