#NYC man charged with pipe attack on elderly gas station worker

A Queens man bashed an elderly Long Island gas station worker with a metal pipe after the clerk asked him to keep his distance, police said.

Hiram Vega, 41, of Flushing, was arrested Friday by Nassau County Police and charged with first degree assault in the April 3 attack at a Freeport Shell gas station, according to cops.

Vega was paying for his purchase with a $10 bill at the Merrick Road store around 10:30 p.m. when the clerk asked him to back away, to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus, police said.

Enraged, Vega retrieved a metal bar from his car, came back into the gas station and beat the 67-year-old clerk in the head, ribs and leg, leaving him with a “large laceration” and fractured skull, police said.

Vega fled, and the victim was taken to the hospital.