When a 67-year-old gas station worker asked a customer to socially distance as he handed over a $10 bill, the customer allegedly beat the employee with a metal rod, fracturing his skull, police say. Hiram Vega, from Queens, fled the Long Island, New York gas station after the incident, which happened during the peak of the virus outbreak in April. He was finally arrested Friday and charged with a count of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault.