Bronx verbal dispute ends with 68-year-old man fatally punched

BRONX (WABC) -- Police have made an arrest in the death of a 68-year-old man was fatally punched in the Bronx.

Authorities say Ronald Antonucci was parking his car on Stadium Avenue, near Shore Drive and Layton Avenue, when he got into a verbal dispute with the suspect, described by witnesses as a man in his 50s.

The dispute escalated, and Antonucci was struck in the eye with a closed fist. He fell to the ground and never got up.

He had bruising around his left eye, and a wound on the back of his head consistent with a fall. He was rushed to Jacobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The cause of death was determined to be blunt impact to the head, and the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.

Fifty-year-old Gjok Deda, who lives in the same building, was arrested and charged with manslaughter.

The investigation is ongoing.