Witness Describes a Body Slam in ‘Air Rage’ Trial
An airline employee testified Monday that she saw a passenger, who is accused of breaking the neck of a Continental Airlines gate agent in an alleged 1999 “air rage” incident, grab the agent and fling him to the ground.
John Davis Jr., 29, of Fredericksburg, Va., is charged by Essex County prosecutors with aggravated assault and faces 10 years in prison if convicted of the alleged attack on Angelo Sottile, 50, of Kearny.
Sottile testified in Essex County Superior Court that he fell into a semi-coma and is in constant pain.
Continental agent Ana Bautista described a “hectic” scene at the gate on July 22, 1999, as more than 100 passengers waited for delayed flights. She said Davis, waiting for an Orlando, Fla., flight, got into an argument with Sottile. Bautista said Davis pushed Sottile, then lifted him four feet before slamming him down.
Defense attorney Anthony Pope countered that Sottile grabbed Davis around the neck and the two fell to the ground. The fall, he said, broke Sottile’s neck.
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