Road rage incident violently spins out of control
BRANDON (FOX 13) -
A road rage attack landed one man in jail and another in the hospital, with both facing serious charges.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said this is exactly why you need to keep your cool behind the wheel, even if somebody else's driving upsets you.
You never know what that driver could be carrying. In a case Monday morning, it involved a stun gun and a baseball bat.
Sheriff's deputies said Chieng Hsieh got hot over Charles Mabry, Jr.'s driving in his red Nissan, and that triggered a wild and dangerous ride through Brandon.
"Originally started in the area of Providence," said Debbie Carter with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, "when I guess one driver failed to use the turn signal and it must have outraged the other driver."
Deputies said the two drove side-by-side screaming back and forth. The argument boiled over into the street at the intersection of Barmere and Heather Lakes Boulevard. Hsieh apparently came at Mabry with a stun gun and Mabry retreated.
The sheriff's office said Mabry started to leave and should have kept going, but instead he threw his vehicle into reverse and then tried to strike Hsieh, who jumped out of the way.
"Then Hsieh arms himself with a baseball bat," said Carter, who added, Hsieh struck Mabry several times.
"Hits him in the face, the head, the arms," Carter said.
Hsieh is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Mabry had to be transported by ambulance to Brandon Hospital. His injuries are said to be non-life threatening.
"A lot of road-raging drivers," said Christian Torres of Brandon. "It's like everybody has a bad day, just about every day. They want to stay right up on my back bumper or drive too slow, almost hit us."
Torres said he feels like he's doing battle every time he gets behind the wheel. His buddy, Jahco Francis, saw a friend have a "too close for comfort encounter" with a road-raging driver.
"A guy followed him all the way back to his home. He was going to try and defend himself physically, he stood no chance of getting this guy," Francis said. "He went back into the house, and he had to pull a firearm and solve the situation that way."
And that's exactly what the sheriff's office said not to do in a situation like that.
"Don't confront anyone when you're out driving," Carter said. "If you have a problem with someone on the roadway, pick up your phone, everyone has a cell phone, and make a phone call and call law enforcement and let deputies respond."
Hsieh has been arrested twice before. He's out on bond.
Mabry has been arrested seven times, and as soon as he is released from the hospital, the sheriff's office said he'll be charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In this case, the weapon was his car.
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