Woman says she was assaulted in road rage incident at a drive-thru

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A woman claims she was assaulted by a man as she was on her way to grab lunch. She said it was a case of road rage that ultimately ended up with a confrontation in a Jacksonville drive-thru.

The woman, who only wants to be identified as Torri, said she was leaving work to grab a quick bite to eat at Arby's, and on the way, she was almost hit by another car.

Torri admits she honked her horn and flicked off the driver.

Torri said the white four-door sedan followed her to the Arby's on the Southside Blvd., where she says things turned physical.

"My heart just stopped, and I was just like, 'Oh, my gosh. What was he doing? Why was he coming up to my car?" said Torri.

Torri turned on her cellphone and started recording what she was seeing while ordering her lunch in the drive-thru lane.

Torri said the man slapped her.

"He swung his hand right at me, hit my hand first and then my face was just an after effect of the follow through," said Torri.

The victim provided a case number for an assault report written by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Action News Jax Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson said there is something people can do to ensure they don't end up as victims.

Jefferson said road rage can evolve into a dispute if someone provokes a driver.

He said if anyone is ever in a road rage situation, they should never pull over. Next, Jefferson said get on the phone immediately and call police, and most importantly, don't be a sitting duck.

"At that moment, you see him coming - leave. Don't sit there and wait for something to happen," said Ken Jefferson.

Jefferson said when someone has their window down and they're not trying to get away, then they paint the picture that they are ready to fight back.

WJAX