Road Rage in Store Parking Lot

A disagreement in a busy parking lot allegedly escalated from words to wheels after a woman is accused of driving directly at two people as they walked away. Deputies responded after receiving reports that a driver had attempted to strike a man and woman with her vehicle following a verbal confrontation. When deputies arrived, they spoke with the two alleged victims, who gave similar accounts of what happened. According to one witness, the pair had been walking through the parking lot when a white car began backing out. He told deputies the driver became upset over something they had done, pulled the vehicle back toward them, and exchanged words with them. The incident occurred in the parking lot of Sam's Club in South Point. The witness said he and his companion decided to walk away from the confrontation. Instead, he claimed the driver shifted the vehicle into reverse, then into drive, and accelerated toward them at a high rate of speed, appearing to intentionally try to hit them. The second victim gave investigators a nearly identical account. She told deputies the driver circled back toward them while angry, argued with them, and then "sped right at us," forcing both of them to quickly move out of the vehicle's path to avoid being struck. Deputies then reviewed surveillance video from the business. According to the report, the footage showed the white vehicle pulling back toward the couple, an interaction between the occupants, and the vehicle rapidly accelerating in their direction in a manner investigators said was consistent with the victims' statements. Investigators also located an independent witness who was working nearby. The employee told deputies he watched the couple walking through the parking lot and then observed a white vehicle, driven by a woman, "try to hit them." Based on the witness statements and surveillance footage, deputies identified the driver as Sandra Curry. Curry was issued a citation charging her with aggravated menacing and ordered to appear in Lawrence County Municipal Court. When Does Road Rage Become a Crime? Arguments in parking lots and on roadways can quickly escalate beyond traffic offenses. Ohio's aggravated menacing law applies when investigators believe someone knowingly caused another person to believe they were in danger of serious physical harm. A vehicle can become the instrument of that offense if it is allegedly used to threaten or intimidate someone. Deputies say surveillance video and an independent eyewitness helped corroborate the accounts provided by the two alleged victims.

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