DETROIT – A simple hand gesture during a traffic confrontation left a 17-year-old Michigan boy with a broken nose and concussion this week when the other driver decided to get violent with a baseball bat.
Andrew Carbary said it all started when a vehicle cut him off on Gratiot Avenue in the suburbs north of Detroit. The driver slammed on the brakes. Carbary took offense to this.
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"(He) cut out in front of me and slammed on his brakes," Carbary said. "I flipped him off and he slammed on his brakes again."
This may sound like the average daily traffic confrontation in any large American city. But this one escalated. Words were exchanged and the other driver started following Carbary. That lasted for the next five miles. Carbary finally stopped and made the choice to get out of his vehicle, and when he did he was met by a baseball bat to his head.
"The suspect had a baseball bat and charged at the victim and began beating the victim with the bat. The victim suffered a fractured nose, a concussion, and facial/scalp contusions," the police report reads. "The victim was treated at the hospital and released."
Carbary was hit several times in his face and head.
"I didn't see the bat until it was already in my face," Carbary said. "I was focused on eye contact."
He didn't get the license plate or make of the car. However, police said it was a mid-size 4 door vehicle, silver/charcoal, chrome rims with one spare tire, and Yamaha across the back window. The suspect was described as a younger man, maybe 17-19 years old, standing 5 feet 11 inches or 6 feet tall with brown hair and a thin build.
"As a mother, I want to find him and make sure justice is served," Christina Carbary, Andrew's mother, said.
2016 study: More than 1/2 of crashes involve aggressive driving
Nearly 8 of every 10 U.S. drivers admit expressing anger, aggression or road rage at least once in the previous year, according to a survey released in July 2016 by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
AAA said 56 percent of deadly crashes involve a form of aggressive driving, which could include following too closely, yelling at another driver, cutting them off or making angry gestures.
RELATED: Road rage study hits close to home for Michigan woman who lost husband
Men ages 19-35 are the most aggressive drivers on the road, according to the AAA study. Tailgating and gesturing can lead to deadly crashes, which have been increasing in recent years.
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