A deathly case of road rage! - Page 2

Which part of which article are you talking about? It may have started with Potts, but the other driver had several opportunities where he could have walked away. Did Potts stop the other driver from leaving?

I did read the articles, and the Porsche driver's reaction to a U-turn and "words" was beyond the pale, IMO. His behavior was irresponsible and unjustifiable. If that was his usual type of conduct, he shouldn't have been licensed to drive a vehicle.

Well, I can cross Manhattan off my places to live because I definitely don't want to deal with lunatics with bats and pipes. And as for the driving violations, they were for driving the wrong way (I've done that) and failing to move for an emergency vehicle (I didn't think they were even able to do that in Manhattan traffic). I don't know about anyone else, but by age 22 I had already gone to traffic court twice for speeding. Yeah, young and stupid...but live and learn.

I'm not saying what he did was right, but from reading the articles it sounds like the Porsche driver is the one that instigated and escalated the whole thing. Yes, I know your friend was a witness, but did he witness what initially happened to start everything in motion, from start to finish?

I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing if I was harrassed the same way.

I see your opinion that differs from mine because you see the intent as viciously intentional and indifferent and I see it as a situation that got out of hand and showed very poor judgment.

The second doesn't deserve to go unpunished but is not the equivalent of intentionally running someone off the road which is a case we had here.

I know that if I was in this situation and I had someone pounding on my hood and screaming at me, stopping me from leaving, I would feel very threatened and not safe in my car. The guy could have punched the window or windshield and seriously hurt the driver. Just because you're sitting in a 1300 lb vehicle, doesn't mean your safe. There are a number of things that guy could have done to hurt the driver.

I feel that you are also being unfair to us. We can only go on the few accounts that you have given us. And they have presented it as a more threatening situation than you believe. As more information comes out we will probably change with the circumstances.

You're saying you posted "reputable links" but you're also saying that your friend didn't see the Porsche driver touch the Altima. No one here would know that from the links you provided.

It's unfortunate that a fatality resulted, but I can't say I wouldn't have done the same if some psycho was screaming and pounding on my car (which is what it sounds like from the linked-to article). I would try to get away in any way possible, and when you panic it's not in your mind to try to protect the guy you're scared of. It's all very sad but that psycho shouldn't have gotten road rage in the first place. Anyone who loses his temper like that is a ticking time bomb who WILL end up badly hurting/killing someone some day.

Eyewitnesses are notoriously undependable in stressful situations, and I'd bet you could get very different accounts of the incident from different witnesses. My bet would be that this gets plea bargained down to probation and a fine.

But, if it goes to court, don't be surprised if the driver is acquitted.

First let me say either way I am sorry someone lost their life in this situation.

Second in most cases eye witness accounts are not nearly as accurate as some like to beleive. 3 people can bestanding 5 feet away from an accident and all three can have different accounts on what happened.

I would be interested in seeing the Altima driver's account of what happened. Because I am willing to bet we would hear I did not mean to punch the gas, I meant to slowly move forward. I say this because I was in a car that was in an accident with a tree. The driver of the car over corrected a simple slip up. When we crossed the road and was headed for a tree the driver meant to hit the brake but instead punched the gas and we hit a tree (big pine) going over 40 mph. Addernaline can make one things that they don't mean.

Whether or not the first driver made a traffic violation or not did not give the Porshe driver the right to act as he did. 2 wrongs never make a right and this case shows that well. The the Porshe driver had just went about his life after this violation none of this would have happened. While the Altima driver should not have done whatever traffic violation, the other drivre should not have chased him, blocked him in, got out of his car and screamed and punched (depending on the account to beleive) the other persons vechile.

It also clearly says that the "victim" beat on his car, ran a red light and made an illegal u-turn to pursue him when he tried to end the confrontation.

The driver's "driving violations" were pretty minor, too.

Which was....? What? Not driving the way the Porsche driver thought he should? Since when is that a crime? Actually, the article currently says they just "exchanged words." It doesn't say what the words were about, or who initiated the exchange.

I was chased by a man one morning on the way to work. I was behind him in the right lane, moved over to the left lane to pass him in my little Honda and he seemed to take offense that I would pass his big bad muscle car in my little Honda. He then started chasing me and going from lane to lane to keep cutting me off and stop me from getting away from him. I finally got ahead and was preparing to make a left turn and I saw him in my rear view mirror shaking his fist at me. He chased me until I was almost at my work place. I in no way cut him off or interfered with him in his lane so I have no idea why he got upset. My roommate was with me and couldn't figure out why he was acting this way either.

You can bet I was frightened and in a panic. I can certainly understand how the driver could panic and run over a maniac beating on their car. I would see this as a terrible accident caused by fear and panic.

Linda - that is very similar to the incident I described earlier in this thread - only I was alone and it was the middle of the night.

Why I don't condone what the Altima's driver did, I place most of the fault with the Porshe driver. If he had just let it go and not pursue the Altima's driver, he would be alive today.

I don't think any of us are saying he should have died from it. But he was wrong in his ways of approaching the other driver. He should never have gotten out of his car and banged on the hood and screamed at the other driver. Again, if I was in the Altima drivers position, I wouldn't believe I was in control over the entire outcome. The guy could have punched the window or windshield. I would've tried to escape the situation as well, but wouldn't speed off so fast. I would drive slow until the guy moved out of the way. Who knows, the other driver could have done that, and got scared and mistakenly hit the gas too hard. We all don't know exactly what happened in the situation. Even if your friend was a witness, witnesses sightings get skewed all the time in different situations.

I hope no one thinks that the Porsche driver should have died. What I meant was that I think it probably makes a difference to people whether or not the Porsche guy was kicking or punching as the articles say. (Most of us wouldn't have access to your friend's eyewitness account, so our judgements are based on what we've read.) I think that if the Porsche driver started to kick or punch, then some sort of psychological boundary was crossed where the Altima driver may have panicked and acted irrationally by speeding away. I'd feel more threatened if I thought the man wanted to hurt me physically and wouldn't want to wait around to find out! I don't think the Porsche guy should have died... I can't think of any road incident that's worth killing another person over. It just makes more sense to me that the Altima driver would panic about the Porsche driver threatening him (possibly not a crazy reaction)
than it does that the Porsche driver got out of his car in the first place (kind of a crazy reaction). Why would he do that?

If that's the norm in NYC...there's issues there that really should be addressed. Maybe more laws or law enforcement for road rage incidents. I know here it is technically "road rage" to even give someone the middle finger and they can give you a ticket just for doing that! Honestly, if someone did to me what the Porche driver did to the kid in the Altima, you would probably be talking about me in this thread, because I probably would freak out and mow the guy down if he had moved to the front of the car (that's what one of the articles said, not sure which one...that he started out screaming and pounding on the driver's side, then when the Altima driver started trying to get away he moved to the front of the car to block him in). You can say I'm callous or indifferent to human life, but I think it would be fight or flight at that moment.

How many people don't have any driving violations? I accidentally drove the wrong way down a one way and got a ticket. Got a ticket for speeding not too long ago because I just wasn't paying attention. Do those things make me a horrible criminal? I don't think so.

The Altima driver is 22 years old. Even if psychotic road rage (which is how I see the Porche driver's actions) is the norm there, this may have been his first time being confronted like that. I know I have never been - not even close!

I'm definitely not saying that the Porche driver should have been killed, not by a long shot. But I can understand what may have happened with the Altima driver that could be extenuating circumstances. And if he were in a fight or flight mode, and chose flight...he wouldn't have just stopped once the guy went down. Adrenaline doesn't work that way.

Okay, first, this kid's 'criminal record' consists of using a cell phone, failing to signal, following too closely, driving the wrong direction, trespassing, and possession of pot. Doesn't sound too different than any other 22 year-old average American male. Real criminal on our hands here, lol.

He seems like an unexperienced, young, frightened kid, who let panic and fear rule his reaction. I can also see that he may have meant to accelerate slowly, but his body was reacting to the adrenaline that was no doubt pounding through his system and the gas was punched. I have experienced that myself, and ran into a metal pole by accident, (put the car into drive, not reverse and then punched it). I don't think a homicide charge is accurate in this case.


And honestly, if this so called 'victim' had so little control on his temper, as well as being as exceedingly stupid as he appears to have been, something like this was bound to happen, if not something worse. That guy sounds like he was a nut case and I personally feel little sympathy towards his situation. If this wouldn't have proved fatal for this man, he could have been charged with (at the least); harassment, assault, reckless driving (insert numerous traffic citations here), road rage, and damage of private property. Who sounds like a criminal now? However, since he's dead, let's feel sorry for him and forget all the violations to others/the law, shall we?

As for the results, we'll see what happens.

Actually (I'm chiming in here to get facts straight), Sharinn (Porsche driver) was the one with the cell phone, signal and following too closely violations. He was an aggressive driver, period.

Here's a quote from the last article posted:

Also, at least one or two of the more recent articles state the Altima was a rental... I don't know about any of you, but if I were driving a rental car and this happened, I'd be even more panicked because it's not MY car. I don't OWN the car being damaged... No one here has commented on that detail.

Same article as above:
I've been following this thread since the start. I agree that the Porsche driver/aggressor should have just 'let it go' ... yes, the kid made some errors in driving... the Porsche driver wasn't a cop, it's not his job to pull someone over. He went way over the top in this situation and the kid reacted in a way that ended up costing the other guy his life. He tried backing up but was blocked in... if the only opening is where the jerk hitting my car is standing, I'd go that way too.

Classic Fight or Flight. He was trying to get away from his attacker... probably the only reason the Porsche driver didn't hit him with his own car was because he probably babied the darn thing and was afraid to get it all scratched up. But that's my assumption, based upon seeing how folks treat their luxury cars. He should have just left the kid alone in his own driving mistakes... Just my observations, from all the articles and such. PUnishment? Yes, but not a murder charge... If I, (putting myself in the kids' shoes) was a skinny kid being threatened (even being in a car) by some 'well built' 6'5" angry dude hitting my rental car and screaming at me, I'd be scared to death too...

~A~

Ah, thanks for that....As you said...only further shows he has anger/aggression issues.

I also had a driver show road rage at me one time, and it was a very frightening experience. I was driving to work and I must have passed this guy and then slowed down. I do not know what provoked him. And I consider myself a good driver, where I would know if I did something wrong.

That is what is scary about people with road rage- they are the ones who obsess and personalize the actions of other drivers.

All I knew was that I slowed down for a speed trap. But the next thing I knew, this guy pulled in front of me and stopped his car. I thought maybe he had an engine problem so I tried to go around him, but he turned his car with me and blocked me again. He would not let me move or pass him. It was very frightening.

I did get my cell phone out and called for the police number in the town where we were located. He must have seen me on the phone because then he drove away.

I feel bad that this other driver died but I would bet that his "following too closely" was another case of road rage. I think that is why people are showing sympathy for the driver in the rental car. This boy tried numerous ways to get away. And the other guy stalked and cornered him at every attempt. If you look at anyone who is cornered, they will do the classic fight or flight.

By the way, the rental would also explain why he hit the gas too hard- how do you know the pedal pressure on a rental vehicle.

It is indeed hard to feel bad for the victim. It feels to me as if both of them are victims of the dead man's rage.