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RHPD blotters: Left lane slowpoke with badge causes ‘road rage’ report
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From Richmond Hill Police Department reports: 

Matter of record: A Richmond Hill man reported a case of road rage around 8 p.m. Jan. 6. The man said he was headed south on Highway 17 “between the city limits and (Highway 144)” and in the right hand lane when he got slowed down by traffic and got into what’s supposed to be the left lane, or passing lane. “He advised that there was a gray Dodge Charger in front of him that was maintaining the same speed of the vehicle in the right lane,” and “the driver of the Dodge Charger continued to tap on his brakes while he was behind him.”

The complainant said he was able to get back over in the right lane and went around the Charger, and as he went by “began to yell at the driver,” who yelled back at him and “began to flash a badge at him and proceeded to yell at him to pull over.” The complainant said the man never pulled a gun, wasn’t in uniform and when he got his cell phone to dial 911 “the driver of the Dodge Charger” began to change lanes suddenly, and the complainant was able to get a tag number, which he gave to the officer. The officer ran the tag and saw it came back to a Richmond Hill address. He was able to get hold of the driver, who admitted to being in a road rage incident and “advised there was someone following him close and then drove alongside him and began to yell at him. ((He) stated he was not going to speed because the other driver was in a hurry.” The officer’s response was a beauty for all motorists who get frustrated by slowpokes clogging up left hand lanes and refusing to move over.

“I then explained to (the man) that the left lane is for passing and he needs to change lanes when he safely can next time,” the report said, noting the officer also asked the man if he’d flashed a badge. He had. It was a code enforcement badge for a neighboring city.

A report was generated. 

Matter of record: An officer was called out about 9:20 a.m. Jan. 8 to I-95 north around mile marker 86 “in reference to debris (a vehicle jack) in the center lane. Bryan County Dispatch also advised that there was a white Subaru Outback that hit the jack and needed a report for the damage.”

While the officer was headed to the spot, he saw “a tractor trailer and a white in color SUV parked on the shoulder of the north bound lanes.”

What’s more, another officer had met with the driver of the Subaru, a Virginia woman, and told the reporting officer “she struck the drive shaft of the tractor trailer that was pulled over ahead of her. (Her) vehicle suffered flat tires to both front and rear driver side wheels.”

The reporting officer then met with the truck driver, who said “he was traveling north bound in the center lane on the down slope of the mile marker 86 viaduct when the drive shaft fell out of his truck. It took approximately 200 yards for (his) truck to come to rest on the shoulder of the interstate.”

During a search “for the knuckle of the drive shaft another semi pulled over and the driver … advised that after the drive shaft fell out of (the truck), the knuckle bounded up and hit his windshield.”

Everybody got a case card, the woman’s SUV was towed, the driver with the damaged windshield was able to drive away and the truck driver who lost his drive shaft waited on a town truck.

There was no further word in the report of a jack.

Reckless driving, speeding: A Florida man was ticketed on Jan. 6 after he was pulled over around 1:38 a.m. on southbound I-95 for going 107 mph. The man “stated there was a car riding beside him that was making him nervous.”

The officer’s report said when he clocked the car going 107 mph “there were no other vehicles around.”

The man was cited and released with a March 8 court date.

Matter of record:: A Midway woman reported Jan. 3 she parked at the TA truck stop on Highway 17 and went inside, then came back out about 10 minutes later and “discovered her (Xanax pills) were missing.”

The woman said the pills were in her purse and nothing else had been taken. She wasn’t sure she’d locked her car, either.

The woman said her doctor told her to file a report to replace her medication.

Criminal damage to property: An officer was sent to Food Lion around 4:35 p.m. Jan. 9, where he was told by a man he parked around 4 p.m. “next to a large pickup truck.”

The man told the officer “when he got out of his vehicle, the driver of the truck said that (the man) hit his car.”

The man said he told the driver he didn’t hit his truck and checked for damage, didn’t see any and “then proceeded inside Food Lion.”

About 20 minutes later, he came back out “he noticed his driver side mirror had been broken off of his vehicle.” Photos of the damage was taken, etc.

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