A New Jersey man who quarreled with Burger King employees over not wearing a mask returned later that day and strangled one of the workers, authorities said Monday.
The attack took place on March 27 shortly after 4pm in the fast food restaurant on Route 23 in Wayne, according to Capt. Dan Daly.
Wayne’s David Siversten, 47, walked into the business and approached the female employee, “wrapping both hands around her neck and starting to strangle her,” Daly said in a statement.
“The attack only ended when another employee intervened,” Daly said. The victim complained of pain but did not refuse transportation to a hospital, he added.
Siversten ran before police arrived, Daly said. Officers later saw him sitting in a driveway on nearby Newark-Pompton Turnpike, Daly said.
“When the officer approached, the suspect came up to him and said, ‘You got me,'” Daly said. “The suspect was excited and apparently under the influence of alcohol.”
According to Daly, Siversten is the same man who entered Burger King earlier in the day and argued with restaurant workers about not wearing a mask.
“He fled the restaurant before police also arrived in that incident,” Daly said.
Officers brought Siversten back to the restaurant and the worker identified him as the man who assaulted her, Daly said.
Siversten is charged with aggravated assault. During the processing, he allegedly did not cooperate and “injured himself by deliberately hitting his head in the steel bench on which he was handcuffed,” Daly said.
Daly said Siversten was taken to a local hospital, treated and then taken to Passaic County Jail to appear in court for the first time.
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Anthony G. Attrino can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.