NEW YORK -- Afghanistan's envoy to the United Nations rammed a woman with his car in a fight over a parking space, but police said Friday Afghan officials were 'uncooperative' in their investigation of the incident.
The woman was standing in an empty parking spot to hold it for her boyfriend who was driving around the block when the incident took place.
The diplomat, identified by The New York Times as Shah Mohammad Dost, reportedly identified himself to the woman as an Afghan official and ordered her to move out of the way.
When she refused, Dost backed into her with his 1978 Lincoln, which bore diplomatic license plates.
The Times quoted unidentified State Department sources in naming Dost, who was once his country's foreign minister and now plays a key role in the United Nations' efforts to negotiate an end to Afghanistan's civil war.
Top diplomats are covered by immunity and cannot be prosecuted for crimes they commit or be sued for damages. However, if the actions are severe enough, they may be expelled from the United States.
Police confirmed that the woman, identified as Margaret Curry, 42, filed a complaint Sunday, charging that the incident occurred on a street in Queens.
Police said Curry was treated for cuts and bruises at Flushing Hospital Medical Center and released the same day. She could not be reached for comment.
Police spokeswoman Janice Swinney said detectives were hindered in their efforts to discuss the incident with Afghan authorities and would not confirm that Dost was a suspect in the attack.
'The Afghan mission has been uncooperative with the investigation and it is being handled by the State Department,' Swinney said.
But officials at the U.S. mission to the United Nations said the investigation is being handled by city police. The officials said only that police had sought verification from the car's diplomatic license plates.
