Pierce County road-rage incident caught on camera prompts warning
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- A 67-year-old man was arrested after shoving a woman in a road rage incident in Graham.
- Video of the assault was circulated by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office as a warning.
- People should call 911 and not exit their vehicle in road rage incidents, the office said.
During a stop in traffic at a major Graham intersection, a 67-year-old man was filmed shoving a woman to the ground after both had exited their vehicles. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office circulated the clip Friday with a simple message.
“If you ever experience a road rage incident, remember these two things: It’s not worth getting hurt or arrested over, and NEVER get out of your car,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote on its blog.
The man was arrested on suspicion of assault and damaging a vehicle — both misdemeanors — after deputies were called Wednesday to 224th Street East and Meridian, authorities said. It wasn’t immediately clear if the man, whose name was withheld in the online post, has been charged.
In the video recorded by a witness in traffic, the man is seen running toward the woman, 55, and pushing her as she stands in front of her SUV, which is in a far left-turn lane of what appears to be 224th Street East. It appears that the victim hits the back of her vehicle as she falls. Shortly after, another woman walks into camera view to intervene.
Prior to the incident, the suspect and victim were “road raging from down the street” and passing each other, according to a deputy whose body-camera footage was posted online by the Sheriff’s Office. The suspect then exited his vehicle at the light, headed to the victim’s vehicle stopped in front of him and ripped off a door handle, the deputy said.
The victim told authorities that she got out of her vehicle to get the man’s license plate after he punched her locked door and window, according to body-camera footage posted online by the Sheriff’s Office. Then, he shoved her with “full force,” she said.
The woman sustained a head injury, but was checked out and cleared by paramedics, the Sheriff’s Office said. The man remained on scene and was cooperative with deputies.
“With all the road closures and the traffic lights that have been out over the last couple of days, it has been stressful driving,” Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Carly Cappetto said in a video posted to the office’s blog.
Authorities encouraged the public to call 911 immediately and find a safe place to report a road rage incident.
“Road rage leads to bad things, and it’s not uncommon for someone to get hurt in a preventable situation,” the office wrote on its blog. “It’s not that deep, let it go.”
