A taxi driver who was attacked and choked Saturday afternoon in Palo Alto may have been the victim of a hate crime, police said.

The 31-year-old Santa Clara resident was buying a soda at a gas station on the 300 block of Alma Street when the assault occurred, said Agent Dan Ryan of the Palo Alto Police Department.

At about 1:30 p.m., Miguel Luis Carlson, a 31-year-old Burlingame resident, entered the gas station — interrupting the victim's purchase — and asked the cashier for directions. While talking with the cashier, Carlson also asked what city he was in, Ryan said.

The Santa Clara man told police that he turned around to look at Carlson because he thought the question was strange and Carlson responded by telling him to turn around, using a racial slur, Ryan said. The victim then told Carlson to calm down and added that he was not a member of the ethnic group Carlson was insulting, Ryan said.

When the Santa Clara man turned back toward the cashier Carlson jumped on him from behind, putting the victim into a headlock, Ryan said. While choking the man, Carlson allegedly continued to shout insults, telling the victim to "go back to his country."

It took the cashier and a mechanic several minutes to free the man from Carlson's headlock, Ryan said. Apart from a sore neck, the man was not hurt.

Police arrested Carlson a short distance away from the gas station on suspicion of attempted murder and a hate crime.

Ryan said Carlson has been arrested in the past for violent crimes, but didn't provide any details.

Carlson is being held at the Santa Clara County jail.

E-mail Joshua Melvin at jmelvin@dailynewsgroup.com.