Startling video catches California road rage driver flinging wrench, cops say

A Southern California woman was recording another driver during a road rage incident over the weekend when an object came flying at her window, video shows.

It was a wrench, according to KABC — and the other driver tossed it into the woman’s car following what Riverside County deputies described as a “cat and mouse” road rage encounter between the wrench thrower and a third driver in Lake Elsinore around 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Video footage helped deputies identify the suspect as 45-year-old Keith Lewis, who was arrested at his Lakeland Village home Monday, the Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.

Deputies said the woman whose car was hit with the wrench had been driving east on Highway 74 Saturday when she saw a red car “driving recklessly and crossing into opposing traffic to pass other vehicles.” The woman turned on her phone camera and started filming, just in case a crash or worse occurred.

Soon the red car and a black Toyota Corolla were locked in a “cat and mouse game” in which each car apparently tried to pass the other, and then abruptly slammed on the brakes, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Eventually the woman ended up in a left turn lane, and watched as the man driving the Corolla drove up behind her and then up alongside her, deputies said.

The man then rolled down his window, swore at her and “threw an unknown metal object at the victim’s closed driver side window,” the sheriff’s office said.

Video published by KABC shows the startling moment the object is flung at the woman’s car.

The wrench shattered the woman’s window, and the man drove off, deputies said. Safety glass on the woman’s window kept her from being injured. She called police to report the incident.

Lewis has been booked at the Cois Byrd Detention Center and faces one felony charge of throwing an object at a vehicle, as well as misdemeanor charges for failure to appear in court, deputies said.

A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office told McClatchy by email that authorities could not release video of the incident because it is evidence, and added that authorities did not release the footage KABC published.

Jail records indicate Lewis posted bond on $50,000 bail and was released Monday, according to the Press-Enterprise.

This story was originally published June 4, 2019 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Startling video catches California road rage driver flinging wrench, cops say."