Posted on 08/09/2005 6:40:05 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Angry driver hits man - police
By Jennifer Frazer rep8@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE - In an apparent act of road rage, a man drove his Chevrolet Blazer into another man in the parking lot of Kmart on Dell Range Boulevard at 7:16 Sunday night.
Carl Olsen, 32, was driving a tan 1985 Chevrolet Blazer westbound near Sam's Club on Dell Range when a blue 2005 Honda Civic approached.
Though many acts of road rage start with one driver getting cut off or with some other aggressive traffic maneuver, Olsen and his passenger, Chad Hamby, 29, told police that they didn't like the way Justin Cruz, 23, and the female driver, Brianna Hernandez, 21, were looking at them.
Neither Olsen nor Hamby knew Cruz.
Witnesses reported to police that the Blazer began to chase the Civic and nearly ran some of the witnesses off the road.
The two vehicles turned into the Kmart parking lot. Cruz was stepping out of the Civic when he was hit by the front of the Blazer. Witnesses at the scene described the collision as intentional, the police report says.
Cruz was taken to United Medical Center-West, where he was treated and released.
"It was fortunate the injuries were not as tragic as the ones last week when the young lady was run over," Lt. Rob Korber said, referring to another apparent dispute, this time between an man and his ex-girlfriend.
Hamby was later arrested for an outstanding city warrant unrelated to Sunday's events.
Korber said he thinks incidents of road rage in Cheyenne occur more often than people would like to think.
"I think when people get behind the wheel, they lose a lot of common courtesy they might display if they were face to face with a person," he said. "In some way the vehicle gives them a false sense of security."
The worst thing a person involved in road rage can do is participate, Korber said. The best thing to do is drive at a normal rate of speed to a police station. Several incidents have been prevented that way when the aggressive driver realizes where the other car is headed, he said.
If that's not possible, he said, pull into a place where vehicles must come to a stop, like a convenience store, stay in the car and call the police via cell phone. Get a license plate number and a last direction of travel if the other car leaves.
The important thing, Korber said, is to get off the road - where a chase could result in spectators getting injured - and not participate in violent driving behavior, even if struck by another car.
"I know it's hard to do that sometimes. I know the impulse is to put the foot on the gas. That's not always the most intelligent choice."
This is good advice to those facing irate drivers, but if one is traveling outside his community, he is unlikely to know where the police station is located.
Olson sounds like a psychopath. Running someone over because you don't like the way he's looking at you?? Revoke his license forever.
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