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Dayton man believes bumper sticker led to apparent road rage incident

DAYTON — A Dayton man is sending a warning after he was threatened by another driver reportedly waving a gun with a laser light attached.

The man says the road rage incident ended with the threatening driver swerving across the lane and almost hitting him.

The man told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that he suspects his former line of work may be why he was a victim of apparent road rage.

The incident began around noon on Sunday when the driver who says he was threatened pulled onto North Main Street and up to the bridge into the left turn lane to turn onto 75 or route 4.

“The person shoots by me, comes over into my lane, then shoots up onto Northbound 75,” the man said.

His dash camera showed the swerving but not everything that led up to it.

“Like you just notice something is driving fast behind you,” he continued.

“They just pulled up really close behind me and started with the finger.”

The man, who wished to not be identified, told Mike Campbell that he threw his hand up in the air as if to say why are you mad at me.

He then waited for the light to turn green, but another light drew his attention, a laser bouncing around his car.

“I looked closer, it wasn’t just a laser, it was a handgun,” he said.

That’s when the light did turn green, this man had the other driver swerve at him then head onto 75.

He decided to be safe and not follow. The man said his autistic son was also in the car with him at the time of the incident.

The man, who is a former law enforcement officer, said he can only think of one possible explanation for being targeted.

“The only thing that came to mind was the FOP emblem on my license plate.”

“We don’t know why he did it, it’s a conclusion we’re not ready to jump to,” said Lt. Matt Beavers with the Dayton Police.

Investigators are looking to find the other driver but don’t know what his motives were.

They are urging everyone to avoid road rage incidents and remember everyone is going through a tough time since COVID began combined with a summer of unrest.

“With everything that’s gone on over the last 6-8 months everyone’s nerves are on edge,” Beavers said.

Dayton police say the drier that made the threats had his rear license plate numbers covered or worn out.




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