Woman Alleges Taxi Driver Hit Her Before Deadly Altercation

A woman at the center of an alleged altercation that resulted in the death of a Riverhead taxi driver said he attacked her. 

According to police, Faith Miller, a Hampton Bays resident, alleges she was punched by Riverhead resident Robert Levasseur, a driver, who later died from injuries related to an alleged "road rage" incident that occurred on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays on April 21 after an onlooker reportedly interceded.

According to, Levasseur, 53, was struck in the head by Kenneth Tofty-Forrest, 27, of Hampton Bays. The police report stated that Levasseur suffered "significant face and head injuries" and was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center by medevac and later transferred to Stony Brook.

The police report indicates that Levasseur was involved in a dispute with a woman before Tofty-Forrest intervened.

Miller said she was driving down a street in Hampton Bays on Saturday, April 21 when Levasseur “blew through a stop sign, and caused me to have to swerve off the road. I almost crashed my truck. This driver did not stop, did not slow down -- he just kept driving.”

Miller said she parked her truck and sat for a few moment before she began driving again and headed down Good Ground Road, where she saw the taxi driver pulling into the parking lot of the Chase bank branch on Montauk Highway.

“I followed him in there,” Miller said. “I got out of my truck and asked him what his problem was. I thought I had the right to know why he did what he did.”

About the incident, Miller added, “Yes, I will admit I was yelling. I was upset. Then he proceeded to get out of the car and tell me I needed to shut up. He punched me in the jaw.”

Next, Miller alleges that Levasseur “proceeded to come after me again,” and that’s when, she said, Tofty-Forrest stepped in. “Kenneth struck the man only once, and the man hit the ground,” Miller said.

Police have been unable to confirm if the incident between Lacasseur and Miller was verbal or physical in nature.

On Monday, Southampton Town Police Chief William Wilson confirmed that Miller had made an allegation that Levasseur had hit her, and that she had stated she wanted to file charges. “As it was explained to her, if it was appropriate, we would have charged him. But he was in a coma and he passed away, so there's nobody to charge.”

A funeral for be held on Monday at Calverton National Cemetery.

It is unclear whether Tofty-Forrest will face additional charges after Levasseur's death. Robert Clifford, spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, said on Monday that the investigation is ongoing and the defendant is currently charged with assault third degree.