Deputies in King County, Washington, responded to a call about road rage when a suspect allegedly hurled an axe at another driver near Interstate 5 on July 27.
Q13 Fox reported Wednesday the driver of a Jeep honked at the alleged victim while the two merged onto the NE 145th St. I-5 ramp and the Jeep’s driver kept honking as both cars drove northbound.
The King County Sheriff’s Office detailed the incident in a Facebook post on Monday and shared dashcam footage of the incident:
As they traveled northbound. the Jeep’s driver continued to honk so our victim took the Ballinger Way exit to avoid a freeway confrontation. Only moments later the Jeep passes him, blocks the roadway and the driver hurls a hammer before fleeing.
Using additional surveillance, King County detectives identified the Jeep’s driver. They learned that only three days after this incident he was apprehended for multiple felonies after fleeing from deputies in Snohomish County. It’s easy to find – and charge – a suspect when they are already jail. Charges are pending in Shoreline, but once filed our hammer-thrower should be off our roads for some time.
The clip appeared to show the suspect get out of his vehicle and throw the axe before getting back into the vehicle and fleeing the scene:
Although the sheriff’s office referred to the object as a hammer, it appeared to be a type of cutter mattock or “grub axe” which is a gardening tool used for digging, prying, and chopping, according to the Bean Growing website.
A screenshot from the dashcam video showed the black-handled object up close:
“If you believe you may be in a road rage incident consider driving to the nearest police or fire station. Most suspects go where they believe they won’t be caught,” the sheriff’s office’s post concluded.