A 26-year-old man is facing assault charges after an apparent case of road rage was caught on camera in East Vancouver.
Footage uploaded to YouTube shows a male driver get out of a small white sedan after traffic stops going eastbound on Terminal Avenue in Mid-February.
He walks up to the Volkswagen stopped in traffic in front of his vehicle. After leaning his head into the car’s window, he appears to punch the driver before returning to his vehicle.
Witness Norman Rydings was in a white service van stopped beside the Volkswagen when the alleged attack happened, and jumped out to prevent things from escalating further.
Rydings told CTV News the incident was “pretty intense,” but he felt he had to intervene.
“We don’t have much of an opportunity to help people these days and I realize that’s kind of my calling in life, to help people out,” he said.
Video of the altercation, which was captured on the dash cam of another vehicle, shows other people get out of their cars, including one who runs across the road to flag a police car across the road.
Moments later, the suspect driver was handcuffed and taken into custody.
Sgt. Randy Fincham said the man has since been released, and charges of assault are pending against him.
The dash cam video is likely to play a role in the case, which should serve as a warning to others who feel themselves getting frustrated behind the wheel.
“We’re seeing on a more frequent basis that there is video out there at times that can assist us in investigations,” Fincham said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Scott Hurst
