Canton area business owner mistakenly under fire over road rage video
CANTON – A business owner says he's receiving harassing phone calls after a road rage video went viral on social media.
The man shown in the video is wearing a T-shirt with a similar business name.
Darren "Pep" Bracken, who started Hall of Fame Painting more than 25 years ago, said it's a case of mistaken identity and he wants the nasty calls to stop.
"I've had the same name since 1997. I'm just a lone-man company," Bracken said.
He specializes in commercial and residential painting.
Another road rage case: Driver in Canton road rage assault gets prison term
Hall of Fame Painting mistaken identity
On July 9, a man was recorded on cellphone video getting out of his vehicle on Tuscarawas Street W near Raff Road NW around 1:48 p.m. and kicking in the side of another vehicle on the road.
The driver of the damaged vehicle recorded the incident. The video doesn't include what sparked the outburst.
The man was wearing a red T-shirt promoting a business named Hall of Fame Painting Co. LLC.
The man is shown ripping off a windshield wiper, trying to kick off the passenger side mirror and trying to open the car doors.
Once the video went viral, dozens of people looked up the business, and left negative phone calls with the wrong company.
The correct business, according to the Ohio Secretary of State's website, is based out of Akron. The Canton Repository could not reach the owner of the Akron business for comment.
"I've was getting 22 calls a day until I left a message on my voicemail explaining the incident and how this was not our employee nor our business," Bracken said.
Bracken said some of the calls were personal, with people yelling, "I hope you fail and go under."
The driver of the damaged vehicle filed a report with Canton police the same day. The man shown in the video has not been charged.
Family speaks out about road rage incident
Ever since the video was posted online, many viewers have asked what sparked the man's rage.
The Canton Repository spoke with the man's wife who says the woman who recorded the incident cut off her husband on the roadway and proceeded to throw multiple items out of the window that struck her husband's car.
The family says they've also been receiving threats on a daily basis, and plan to pursue a defamation lawsuit against the woman who recorded the incident and promoted the video.
The woman who posted the video couldn't be reached for comment.
Reach Cassandra cnist@gannett.com; Follow on Twitter @Cassienist
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Hall of Fame Painting owner mistakenly under fire over road rage video
