Police: Man punches Jackson woman in I-94 road rage incident
A man punched a woman in the arm after trying to run her off of eastbound Interstate 94 Friday afternoon in a road rage incident, according to police.
Ann Arbor police Lt. Renee Bush said a 47-year-old Jackson woman was driving east on I-94 near State Street about 2 p.m. Friday when a vehicle tried to run her off the road twice. The two vehicles stopped on southbound South State Street and the man exited his vehicle and approached the woman.
“They were stopped at a traffic light at State Street and a witness observed this person getting out,” Bush said. “Obviously, he was not able to control his emotions and anger.”
According to a witness who spoke to police, the man yelled profanities as he approached the woman’s vehicle. Bush said the man reached into the car and punched the woman in the arm.
The man then walked around the front of the vehicle and kicked the passenger door of the vehicle several times before getting back into his vehicle and driving away, Bush said. The man was gone before police could arrive.
The woman sustained minor injuries. The man was driving a red 2008 Ford Fusion and police have the license plate number of the vehicle.
The case is still under investigation and will be turned over to the Ann Arbor Police Department’s detective bureau.
Any witnesses to this incident are encouraged to call the Ann Arbor police anonymous tip line at 734-794-6939 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).
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Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
mady
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 2:02 p.m.
Hopefully the authorities will find this guy before he throws another temper tantrum!
RRW
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 1:31 p.m.
My Gosh, What the hell is wrong with people these days?
ChelseaBob
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 1:06 p.m.
Thats why my wife and daughter have pepper spray in the car.
JRW
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 12:46 a.m.
Lot of this all around. Don't roll down your window, record the plate and take a photo of the car. Call 911. I would never engage anyone who walked toward my vehicle in that situation.
PineyWoodsGuy
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 6:17 a.m.
There are a LOT of Nutcases out on the road!!!
Lynn Liston
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 9:15 p.m.
Road rage is scary. I had just pulled out of my neighborhood onto the highway several years ago when a guy (yep- a young man) pulled out of the same street and pulled up right on my rear bumper. I had not cut him off or delayed him in any way, and was not driving slowly but he kept riding the bumper. He then tried to pull up on the driver's side and run me off the road. I dodged and let him get ahead and pulled into a parking lot to let him get well away- he pulled into the parking lot from another driveway and tried to block my exit. That's when I held up my brand new cellphone (this pre-dates smart phones, camera phones and cars with Bluetooth) and indicated I was calling the police- he took off in a cloud of dust. No idea who he was or what he wanted. People who drive like that cause accidents and hurt people. I agree with the advice above to not lower the window, take some photos of the other car/driver and head for the nearest police station.
Lynn Liston
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 2:54 p.m.
:) Yep, I know how to use that fancy optional equipment called turn signals. Wish everyone did. Guess I'll never really know what was going on with him.
mgoscottie
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 1 a.m.
Did you signal?
TrappedinMI
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 8:42 p.m.
Being a victim of road rage is not always the victim's driving habits. I was at a four way stop in which myself and the other car approached from opposite directions and arrived at the same time. Road rage guy's front end was damaged and he had no blinker. I'm thinking we're both going straight. So we enter the intersection at same time. Road rage guy (yes, it was a young man) completely looses it, does an illegal u-turn, chases me down the road, pulls along side me, gets in front of me, slams on his brakes while I'm pretty darn scared trying to call 911. It's actually very hard to call 911 while shaking intensely, not to mention I shouldn't be calling and driving. Anyway, I make a quick right turn and he does another illegal u-turn and starts to chase me again and then suddenly breaks off pursuit. This is obviously long, but people, it's not always the victim's fault.
garrisondyer
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 1:18 p.m.
I'd go so far as to say it's never the victim's fault that some road rager can't get a grip on reality and stop themselves from completely flipping out over traffic.
Paul
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 10:50 p.m.
If everybody drove perfect, there never be any accidents, we aren't perfect drivers, mistakes happen, don't drivers ed teach that anymore ?
Crono
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 7:25 p.m.
I'm always amazed at the amount of road rage that people can have. It's a shame people don't know how to control their emotions better.
Blue Marker
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 11:34 a.m.
Good point but I'm also amazed at what I see on the road on a daily bases. You've got to take a deep breath and count to ten. But it would be nice if people were a little more considerate of those around them too.
Alex Swary
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 6:40 p.m.
Seems like he put a lot of effort into something that could have probably been better expressed by a quick flipping of the bird.
garrisondyer
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 1:16 p.m.
Agreed. That lesson was my all-time favorite from drivers' ed. I don't use it often, but man does it feel good when I do.
Major
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 6:11 p.m.
Perfect time to hit the "trunk monkey" button.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W568dGp751Q
garrisondyer
Tue, Jun 11, 2013 : 1:15 p.m.
I need one.
BHarding
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 7:40 p.m.
Cute! If only.
Julius
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:38 p.m.
Who knows how this got this far, but don't escalate the situation -- ever. It's just not worth the risk.
Ignatz
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:01 p.m.
He's lucky she did not have a legal concealed weapon on her.
Brad
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 11:14 p.m.
@Paul - better yet, two 'open carry' practitioners? "Showdown on South State Street".
Paul
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 11:02 p.m.
Just think if they both had concealed weapons, it could have been like the wild west.
Paul
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 11 p.m.
Her car can be a weapon, he is lucky she didn't hit him with the car as he ran either in front or in back of the car to kick in the other side. If it was me, I would try to leave the second he hit me...maybe even when he exited his car if I could safely do so.
Brad
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 7:29 p.m.
Not serious at all. I don't care what the question is, open carry isn't the answer.
bbb
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 5:49 p.m.
@Brad Not sure if you're serious or not, but pistol whipping still involves assaulting someone with a deadly weapon. I don't think hitting them with it rather than pulling the trigger makes a difference. Also, just drawing the weapon is considered a use of deadly force. You can't point a gun at someone to scare them away unless you would be justified in using that gun.
Brad
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:38 p.m.
@bbb - she could've at least pistol-whipped him then.
Julius
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:32 p.m.
We'd just expect her to wait until it was too late to decide to use it.
bbb
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:31 p.m.
@drewk Correct, Michigan law does not prevent open carry. However, it does prevent you from having a loaded weapon in the car without being licensed. So, the fact she wasn't prevented from open carrying isn't really relevant to the comment.
bbb
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:28 p.m.
The fact she rolled down the window for him probably means she wasn't afraid for her life or in fear of great bodily harm. Once he did punch her, he started walking away. I didn't see any point at which deadly force would have been legal. I wasn't there, so maybe there was, but as the story's written I don't see one.
drewk
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:23 p.m.
Of course if you knew the law, you would know that she can carry in the open without the CPL.
Chester Drawers
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 3:59 p.m.
I am always worried that one of these loony-tunes might have a gun. Although I consider myself a far better than average driver (who doesn't!!!) I am sure that every one-in-a-while I just might do something to irritate another driver who has no rage or impulse control.
craigjjs
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 8:52 p.m.
You're not more likely to be intentionally killed by a car than a gun. Apples and oranges.
cinnabar7071
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 7:33 p.m.
Chester the loony-tunes car is just as dangerous as his gun. Fact is you're more likely to be killed by his car.
leezee
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 3:13 p.m.
Even if there is more to this story, and I agree there must be even if it was that the angry driver only imagined that he had been wronged, there is no excuse for that type of behavior. Very scary to be in a situation like that where you are stuck at a light and someone is approaching your car. I had this type of thing happen to me once and I just drove to the nearest police station. The minute I pulled into the lot, the angry driver drove off. You can't always do that for several reasons, but if you can, I highly recommend that approach.
Anders
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 3:08 p.m.
That's why I use a dash cam.
John of Saline
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:41 p.m.
I'd like to get one.
nickcarraweigh
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 3:04 p.m.
There's a lot of this going around nowadays, people driving red cars.
walker101
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 3:01 p.m.
Would of been a great time to photo ID his vehicle and him if she had a cell phone, case would of been open and closed by now. Also never roll down your window only just a little to record his yelling.
cinnabar7071
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 7:28 p.m.
walker thats a good way to get pepper sprayed. Keep the windows up and call police.
Brad
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:35 p.m.
They have his license number. CSI will probably not be required.
UpperDecker
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 3:01 p.m.
I imagine it was a playful jab in the arm.
Paul
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 11:06 p.m.
Well you know if he just touched her arm while he was yelling, the police will say if was a hit. Now he should have not been out of his car in the first place if no accident happen.
Ricebrnr
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:37 p.m.
or just find assault as not an amusing topic?
Julius
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 4:33 p.m.
Negative score for this? Some people don't have a sense of humor.
JimmyD
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 2:32 p.m.
Somebody is going to jail....................
Paul
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 11:07 p.m.
Somebody lost their drivers license--if they can ID him.
Nicholas Urfe
Mon, Jun 10, 2013 : 2:25 p.m.
Surely there is much more to the story. Though whatever that is, the man's actions cannot be condoned. Pro tip: if someone approaches your car in a rage, roll the windows up!