A road rage incident in Kennesaw, Georgia began with one driver apparently angry that the car in front of him was driving the posted 25 mph speed limit. It ended at a red light, with the angry driver out of his vehicle and pounding on the other driver’s door while the person inside recorded from behind the window. Police are now searching for the man, who they say did one more thing before getting out of his car.
According to the Kennesaw Police Department, the victim had been driving north on Main Street at the posted 25 mph limit when the driver behind him began honking and making hand gestures. The driver then passed the victim’s vehicle. A red light at a nearby intersection brought the angry driver to a stop.
That is when, police say, he got out and walked back to the car he had just passed. He hit the driver’s door multiple times, screaming through the window as he did. The victim, still inside the car, kept recording.
What investigators are asking the public to help them with is the man’s identity. The angry driver had folded or rolled up his license plate to hide the numbers before getting out, police told FOX 5 Atlanta. Officers cannot identify him from the tag alone.
What Police Say Happened
According to the Kennesaw Police Department, the incident happened on May 7 at about 4 p.m. near the intersection of North Main Street and Jiles Road in Kennesaw, directly in front of a coffee shop called The Local Doe. The victim was driving north on Main Street at the posted 25 mph speed limit when the driver behind him grew angry and began honking and making hand gestures, Officer David Buchanan told FOX 5 Atlanta.
The driver behind eventually passed the victim’s vehicle but had to stop at a red light at a nearby intersection. At the red light, police said, the man got out of his vehicle, walked back to the car he had just passed and hit the driver’s door multiple times, causing damage.
The Plate Cover
The man had folded or rolled up his own license plate to hide the numbers before the victim began recording, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. That step is part of why investigators are now asking the public to help identify him. The tag in the video footage isn’t readable. Officers said they haven’t been able to identify the driver of the Ford Edge through the plate alone.
Police described the suspect as a man in his 40s or 50s, wearing a blue shirt and a black Detroit Tigers hat at the time of the encounter. He was driving a gray Ford Edge. In the video shared with investigators, the suspect can be seen leaving the Ford and walking back toward the victim’s vehicle before getting up against the driver’s-side door and shouting.
What Witnesses and Officers Said
The encounter happened in front of The Local Doe, and the coffee shop’s owner, Breanna Irwin, told FOX 5 Atlanta that she had seen the aftermath. She described it as alarming that someone could get that worked up over a traffic issue and step out of his vehicle in the middle of the road.
Officer Buchanan, in comments to FOX 5, said that being upset about another driver going too slowly, turning in front of you or failing to use a turn signal is not a reason for violence. Kennesaw police also recommended that drivers who find themselves in confrontations with aggressive motorists avoid engaging, turn off the road if possible, or drive to the nearest police station.
Kennesaw police are asking the public for help identifying the driver of the Ford Edge so they can get his side of what happened and address the damage to the victim’s vehicle, Atlanta News First reported. Anyone with information has been asked to contact Detective Moon at 770-429-4533 ext. 3073 or bmoon@kennesaw-ga.gov.