Man arrested in road rage

A man who already had a warrant out for his arrest for DUI was picked up by Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies following an accident and bizarre attack on another driver in an apparent road rage incident.

Just after 8 p.m. Monday in the Kearns area, witnesses came across two cars that were pulled over and two men who appeared to be fighting, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Paul Jaroscak.

The driver of one vehicle took a metal bar and threw it at the other man's car, Jaroscak said. After heated words were exchanged, the 24-year-old man who threw the bar punched the other driver, took his cap and got back in his car and fled, Jaroscak said, who noted that the other driver was a 66-year-old man with Parkinson's who uses a pacemaker.

The older man was taken to the hospital to be treated for a cracked sternum, he said.

Deputies responding to the area found the younger man's car abandoned a short distance away. They then received a call from neighbors who said a man was hiding in the grass near their yards, Jaroscak said. Investigators were able to find the man they say attacked the older man hiding in the grass. Detectives noted he was very intoxicated.

The man was arrested for investigation of DUI, aggravated robbery and driving on a suspended license. The man was supposed to have an interlock device in his car to prevent drunken driving, Jaroscak said.

The man has a history of reckless and DUI driving, according to court records. Just last week, he was charged in 3rd District Court with felony DUI, assault on a corrections officer, driving on a denied license, driving on alcohol restrictions and having another ignition interlock violation.

---

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com