Motorcyclist and SUV driver argued at a stop light. Then came ‘rage,’ Florida cops say
Florida’s Citrus County Sheriff’s Office made an arrest on Monday in a “violent” road rage.
According to an official release on Facebook, 35-year-old Kristopher Alan Hite first got into an verbal altercation with a motorcyclist while driving with his girlfriend and his young son in his SUV in Crystal River on July 28.
The argument began at a stop light on Suncoast Boulevard. Witnesses said that both Hite and the motorcyclist took off speeding. Hite was traveling in the left/inside lane and the motorcyclist in the right/outside lane.
As Hite saw the motorcyclist approach from behind, he swerved into the outside lane and struck the rider and his motorcycle, causing both to “flip repeatedly in the air violently,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies and emergency crews went to the crash. The rider was taken to the hospital and put on life support in critical condition.
On Monday, after investigators determined that the crash was the result of an “intentional act,” deputies arrested Hite on attempted vehicular homicide and child neglect charges.
“This incident was irresponsible and preventable,” said Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast. “Allowing a negative interaction with another motorist to escalate to road rage puts everyone in jeopardy and demonstrates a reckless disregard for other motorists and passengers.”
Hite is being held at the Citrus County Detention Facility on a $15,000 bond for attempted vehicular homicide and an additional $2,000 for child neglect.
