A Florida road-rage video from 2016 is still drawing comments more than a decade later. It shows a driver running over two people on a motorcycle after an argument at a red light. Viewers may not know that the man behind the wheel later received two 15-year prison sentences.
The attack happened on Memorial Day near Tampa, Florida. A Navy veteran and his passenger were out riding with friends when they crossed paths with a man in a silver Pontiac. Within minutes, both riders were lying on the pavement.
A nearby driver saw the argument getting heated and pulled out his phone. He wanted proof in case things got out of hand. Instead, he recorded a crash that would spread across the internet.
Police soon arrested Robert Paul Vance, then 31, after he fled the scene. The charges against him later grew more serious, and the case took over two years to reach sentencing.
Words Turn Violent
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The trouble started about half a mile before the crash. Witness Abe Garcia told WFTS that the Pontiac had cut off the motorcycles and nearly forced them off the road.
At a red light near U.S. 41 and County Line Road in Lutz, the two sides began yelling. Joe Calderazzo, a Navy veteran riding a Harley-Davidson, was among those confronting the driver.
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Calderazzo said the Pontiac backed up before turning toward his motorcycle.
“I went to go get out of the way, and he just drove right over us,” Calderazzo recalled.
The car struck the bike hard enough to lift one wheel into the air. Calderazzo and his passenger, Melanie Milinkovich, were thrown onto the road. Vance then drove away.
Calderazzo suffered a broken leg, while Milinkovich was left with cuts, bruises, and an injured ankle. Both survived.
A Damaged Getaway
Several witnesses followed the Pontiac and called police. During the escape, Vance also sideswiped another vehicle, according to a Florida Highway Patrol arrest report described by WPBF.
Troopers found him near his home on Lutz Lake Fern Road. His car had damage consistent with the crash, and a shredded tire was found in the trunk.
Vance admitted that he had intentionally struck the motorcycle and left the scene, according to the arrest report.
Garcia, who recorded the collision, later told WFTS he expected trouble but never imagined the argument would go that far.
A Heavy Sentence
Vance was first arrested on charges that included aggravated battery and leaving the scene of a crash. The Florida Highway Patrol later upgraded the battery charges to two counts of attempted murder.
Those charges did not lead to his final convictions.
According to Pasco County court records, Vance was found guilty on June 29, 2018, of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Judge Mary M. Handsel sentenced him to 15 years in state prison for each count. He also received two five-year sentences for leaving the crash scene without helping and driving with a suspended or revoked license.
The records list credit for three months and 19 days already served. They do not show whether the sentences ran concurrently or one after the other.
The two aggravated battery convictions and both 15-year sentences were entered on June 29, 2018, more than two years after Garcia captured the attack on his phone.