The man charged with fatally mowing down a construction worker during a road-rage scuffle on the Upper East Side told cops he feared for his family’s safety — and that he had only meant to disarm the other motorist, not mortally wound him, sources told The Post Thursday.
Andre Mosby, 26, also allegedly claimed he only struck 54-year-old Roberto Velez Alvarez with his 2014 Volkswagen Jetta after his foot “slipped” off the brake and onto the gas pedal, according to law enforcement sources.
Mosby was taken into custody after the Wednesday afternoon confrontation and waived his Miranda rights before allegedly telling cops the deadly encounter began when Velez Alvarez refused to let him merge in traffic.
He said the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado Velez Alvarez was driving veered into the driver-side mirror of his Jetta, scrapping the passenger side of the car, sources said.
Mosby then claimed Velez Alvarez blocked him in with the grey pickup truck on East 60th Street between Park and Third avenues — and then began berating him, according to the sources.
Mosby — who was driving with his girlfriend and three kids — claimed he feared for his and his family’s safety. He allegedly told cops he was trying to back out and get away when Velez Alvarez jumped out of the truck with “a large red knife,” and slashed his tires, sources said.
After popping the front and rear driver side tires, Mosby claimed Velez Alvarez walked in front of the Jetta — which is when, he said, his foot slipped on the pedals and the car lunged forward, according to the sources.
The older man was thrown across the sidewalk by the impact and slammed into a storefront, shattering the glass windows.
Mosby allegedly confirmed eyewitness accounts that he got out of his Jetta and yelled at the mortally injured man but told cops he did not remember what he said, according to the sources.
He said he then got back in his car, checked on his family and called 911.
Police arrested him and charged him with manslaughter and assault.
His Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment was pending Thursday.
Alvarez’s family dismissed the self-defense claim on Thursday, telling The Post that the beloved and hard-working family man was not capable of such a violent outburst.
“I can’t see this,” grieving widow Alex Garcia said. “When they tell me I say, ‘That’s not my husband. That’s not the man I’ve been married to for 28 years. Ask his friends, his family, his boss, his neighbors.
“He is defending himself?” she said of Mosby. “No!”
