A man has now been charged with manslaughter in the potential case of road rage that turned into a deadly dispute on the Upper East Side.

Officials say the incident began as a minor traffic accident between a big Chevy pickup truck and a Volkswagen Jetta just after 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The Volkswagen’s driver, Andre Mosby, was accompanied by a woman and three small children in his car, police said.

Authorities say Roberto Alvarez got out of his Chevy around 119 East 60th Street when the two cars hit each other.

Multiple witnesses told detectives that they believed Mosby feared for the safety of his wife and three children inside his car when he drove at 54-year-old Alvarez, knocking him into the front window of the Oxford Café

Witness Betina Sisi saw what happened next as Alvarez emerged to confront Mosby.

“I just saw the guy stopped the car, gets out of the car, argues, gets back to the car, grabs a knife, goes back, flattens the back tire, the front one, goes in front of the car,” Sisi said. “The next thing that happens the driver literally goes through him.”

Onlookers watched in horror as firefighters rushed the man to a waiting ambulance while performing CPR. Alvarez was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Mosby remained on the scene and was taken into police custody for questioning. He told detectives he was acting in self defense but he has since been charged with manslaughter and assault.

“What would you expect, what would be your reaction if you had your family in the car,” Sisi said. “He was blocking and he couldn’t get out of the space, what would you do?”

The owner of the Oxford Cafe, Evan Xenopoulos, said it’s a reminder that we need to all be more empathetic.

“I don’t get how a fender bender can lead to that, it’s unacceptable,” Xenopoulos said. “Learn to walk away and be positive with each other and respect each other.”