Video: Driver tries to hit pedestrian in road rage incident
- A shouting match devolved into a chaotic scene in downtown San Diego
- The driver of an SUV jumped a curb and tried to hit a pedestrian
- Police arrested the driver on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon
SAN DIEGO (KSWB) — A violent scene unfolded at an intersection in downtown San Diego after the driver of an SUV and a woman got into a shouting match, which resulted in the car jumping the curb and the woman’s friend attacking the vehicle with a bat.
Video of the incident shows the gold Toyota Highlander drive up onto the curb, nearly hitting two homeless people. A man is then seen taking a bat to the car, smashing the windows.
“They started the argument right there and escalated into madness,” said Howard Rexroad, a homeless man who witnessed the incident.
That’s when the SUV attempts to hit the man who smashed out his windows, making several passes and trying to maneuver through a parking area where the man was shielding himself and wielding the bat.
After several passes, the gold Toyota eventually speeds off.
The San Diego Police Department arrested one of the people involved in the altercation — the driver — on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence of alcohol.
The man that smashed out the windows is not facing charges, as investigators believe he acted in self-defense.
Rexroad, speaking with NewsNation affiliate KSWB-TV, said the driver of the SUV had also made disparaging comments about the homeless people. That type of occurrence, however, is not entirely uncommon, according to Rexroad.
“When you walk by sometimes people say rude comments,” Rexroad said. “Sometimes you let it go and sometimes you say, ‘Man, come on.'”