Woman arrested after yelling racial slurs at special needs group aide: police

Stephen Romano

A homeless woman was charged with assault as a hate crime after she hit a woman and yelled racial slurs at her in New Hyde Park on Thursday, police said.

Jennifer Velez, 45, allegedly yelled racial slurs at a 28-year-old woman in a McDonalds at 2045 Jericho Turnpike in New Hyde Park at 4 p.m.

The victim is an aide at a special needs group and drove a group of people to McDonalds, police said.

Police said Velez was calling the woman racial slurs and threatening her because the victim was black.

The woman then got in her car and drove west on Jericho Turnpike and was approached by Velez at a stop light who followed her in another car, police said.

Velez got out of the car and hit the woman in the left cheek and fled the scene on foot, poloce said.

She was arrested in Queens at 11:43 p.m.

She was charged with third-degree assault as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment.

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