WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – An Orange County man was arrested Wednesday night following an armed road rage incident, according to a news release from the Winter Garden Police Department.
Police arrested Bertrum Hayes, 30, after a couple reported he cut them off, threatened them and slashed one of their tires with a knife.
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The incident happened near the Chevron gas station located at 12890 West Colonial Drive, police said.
According to the arrest affidavit, a couple and their son were in a Jeep Wrangler driving eastbound on State Road 50 near Daniels Road when another driver in a green Ford Mustang cut them off. The couple said the driver of the Mustang would continuously speed up, slam on the brakes and would not allow the couple to pass, the report states.
Investigators said when the couple came to the intersection of SR-50 and 9th Street, the driver of the Mustang stepped out of the vehicle with a knife and began yelling at the couple on the passenger side. The couple told police that their young son was in the front passenger seat and one of them laid over him to protect him from the armed suspect while the other pleaded for him to stop.
“The driver of the Mustang then slashed the front passenger tire of the Jeep, got back into his car, and proceeded to turn around to head westbound on SR 50,″ police said in a statement.
Police determined the license plate on the Mustang was registered to Hayes. Officers made contact with Hayes at his home, where he was later arrested after being identified by the couple at a nearby shopping plaza.
Hayes was charged with aggravated assault and criminal mischief.
Back in 2015, Hayes was arrested for another suspected road rage incident near the University Avenue exit on State Road 417. Another driver told troopers that Hayes flashed a gun at his 8-year-old son. During that case, troopers said Hayes admitted he had a problem managing his anger while driving.
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