ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man was beaten unconscious in a road-rage attack after he was involved in a crash with another vehicle and now, deputies are looking for the culprit, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the victim was on State Road 417 on Dec. 15 around 10:45 p.m. when he missed his exit, so he pulled over then reversed in an attempt to get back to the exit when he was struck from behind by an older model silver vehicle.
“It was like gah ... I don’t know, like, a movie,” the victim said.
The victim got out of his vehicle to speak with the other driver and immediately two women walked past him and a man approached yelling, “You hit my vehicle,” according to the report.
Deputies said the victim told the man he didn’t mean to hit his car and he could contact law enforcement to file a report and the man replied, “What are we going to do? I’m from Miami."
“I [got out and] checked my car and [was] looking at my car,” said the victim.
The man took pictures of the victim and his vehicle and as the victim started to photograph the suspect’s vehicle, he was hit from behind, possibly with a fist, records show.
The blow caused the victim to fall to the ground and he was hit at least 10 more times in the head and the face, causing him to briefly lose consciousness, according to the report.
Deputies said when the victim awoke, the man and two women had left in the vehicle and his cellphone had been stolen.
The victim had several injuries to his neck including a chipped tooth, swelling and cuts, records show.
On Tuesday, deputies released a sketch of the culprit, adding that they believe he intentionally struck the victim’s vehicle.
It’s unclear whether the two women mentioned in the incident could face charges.
Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office offered the following few safety tips to drivers in hopes of preventing similar incidents in the future:
- Don’t back up on the highway. It is not safe and it is illegal.
- Don’t drive too closely to the car in front of you. Give yourself plenty of room to stop safely.
- If you have to pull off the side of the interstate for a safety reason, please do so safely by moving over as far as possible from other drivers on the roadway and put your hazard lights on.
- Don’t drive distracted. It’s not safe to drive with distractions. It’s also illegal to text and drive in the state of Florida.
- Carefully get out of your vehicle after a crash.
- If you feel unsafe while driving, call 911. We work with our law enforcement partners throughout the county to address safety concerns along the roadway and will continue to do so but would like to reiterate that if you are on the road and feel unsafe, call 911.