BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A road-rage driver who caused a crash while merging onto Interstate 95 held a man who was in the other vehicle at gunpoint and ordered him to the ground, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said Beorn Costin was driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck on Jan. 3 and was trying to merge onto I-95 South from Wickham Road at the same time as a Jeep SUV.
Costin started honking at the Jeep, which was in front of him, because the driver would not speed up, according to the affidavit. The Jeep driver said she couldn’t speed up because there were other vehicles in front of her.
Deputies said Costin was following too close to the Jeep, causing him to rear-end the other vehicle.
The driver of the Jeep was initially too scared to pull over because Costin was behaving so aggressively, so she exited at State Road 404 and Costin followed, records show.
Costin then cut off the Jeep, forcing the Jeep driver off the road, according to the report.
Deputies said the woman’s husband, who was a passenger in the Jeep, and Costin both exited their respective vehicles and Costin pulled out a pistol while ordering the man to the ground.
The man held his hands up and asked Costin if he was a law enforcement officer but since Costin wouldn’t reply, he didn’t go to the ground, records show.
The affidavit said the Jeep driver and Costin’s wife both stayed in the vehicles and called 911 to report what happened. Costin’s wife could be heard yelling for him to get back in the truck. Deputies said a 4-year-old child was also in the Jeep.
After a few moments, deputies said Costin and his wife left the scene before authorities could arrive.
Costin surrendered himself to the Brevard County Jail Monday on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage.