A 40-year-old Auburn man has become only the fourth New York state resident to be charged with a new section of the criminal assault law after he allegedly broke an elderly man's jaw after a road rage incident last month, officials said.

The Auburn Police Department said Kevin “Dallas” Smith, 40, of 20 Mary St., was picked up on an arrest warrant Tuesday and charged with second-degree felony assault for punching a 76-year-old man in the face on May 9. The incident started after the two men almost got into a car accident on the west side of Auburn, sparking an exchange of words, police said.

Smith then allegedly followed the victim home and was confronted in the street by the elderly man, police said. The victim allegedly shoved Smith, who is accused of retaliating with a punch.

“Granny's Law,” signed by Gov. David Paterson in May 2008, carries a possible seven-year prison sentence for assaults when the victim is at least 65 years old and applies to assailants who are at least 10 years younger than the person they attack.

Previously, suspects would have been charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor punishable with up to one year in jail. Second-degree assault is a Class D violent felony that is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

The state Division of Criminal Justice Services said two defendants have been charged with the statute in Nassau County and one in Suffolk County between June 2008 and April 2009. The law, nicknamed “Granny's Law,” was passed after New York City resident Jack Rhodes, 46, allegedly punched 101-year-old Rose Morat during a 2007 mugging. Rhodes was also charged with mugging an 86-year-old woman nearly two hours later. A security camera captured the attack and allegedly showed Rhodes punching Morat when she refused to give up her purse as she walked to church.

Smith remains in the custody of the Cayuga County Jail in lieu of bail, which was set at $2,500 cash or $5,000 bond.