Crime & Safety

Encinitas Family a Victim of Road Rage

An investigation was under way today into an apparent road rage incident in the North County in which the back window of a vehicle carrying two small children and their parents was shattered by an unknown object.

The incident began about 7:30 p.m. Sunday on westbound state Route 78 at Vista Way, according to CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt.

A 32-year-old Encinitas man was driving his 2012 Honda Pilot with his wife and two small children as passengers when a man in a dark gray Chevrolet sedan cut him off, the officer said in a statement. The driver of the sedan then repeatedly slowed down on the highway in an attempt to get side-by-side the victim's vehicle but was unsuccessful, Bettencourt said, noting that the victim had slowed his vehicle down in a conscious attempt to stay away from the other driver.

As both vehicles reached the exit to north Interstate 5, the sedan's driver began to take the transition road to northbound I-5 and the Pilot's driver continued westbound on state Route 78.

"The driver of the Honda Pilot stated that as soon as he got in front of the suspect's vehicle, he heard his back window shatter,'' Bettencourt said. "He stated that he did not hear a gun shot or see anyone pointing a gun out of the window but he assumed that something from the suspect's vehicle caused his window to be shattered.''

No one was hurt and the driver of the sedan got away, according to the officer. Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call the Oceanside-area CHP office at (760) 757-1675 during normal business hours or the agency's Border Communications Center after hours at (858) 637-3800.

–City News Service


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