A Hiram man is accused of intentionally causing a collision in Austell and then attacking the woman who hit his SUV.
Jesse Newby, 41, was arrested last week after frantic witnesses in Cobb County called 911 to report the road-rage beating, Channel 2 Action News reported.
According to Newby’s arrest warrant, he illegally passed the woman on Garrett Memorial Highway, sideswiping her car in the process. He then stopped in front of her, causing the woman to rear-end his Dodge Durango, authorities said.
That’s when witnesses say Newby got out of his SUV, walked to the woman’s window and punched her repeatedly with a closed fist. He also allegedly hit the woman with her door, Austell police said.
Authorities told Channel 2 the incident started because the woman let “too many cars in front of her” at another intersection. The alleged attack occurred about 5:30 p.m. as motorists made their way home for the evening commute.
“The guy jumped out of the car and he’s beating on the female driver,” witness Cheryl Bell told dispatchers in a 911 call obtained by the news station. “Looks like she might have run into him by accident and he got out of the car and he’s beating on her ...”
Bell said the woman rolled her window down as Newby approached her car, but she probably never expected he would reach in and start punching her.
“She was crouched over and had her head covered,” Bell said, adding that a woman in the passenger seat got out of the car and started screaming as she tried to pull Newby off her friend.
At one point, Newby kicked the woman’s car, according to his arrest warrant.
He is charged with battery, aggressive driving and first-degree criminal damage to property, Cobb jail records show. He was released Tuesday after posting an $11,220 bond.
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