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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — A driver was charged Monday with a road rage-enhanced felony, one of the first prosecutions under a new Utah law that promises tougher penalties for road rage-related crimes.
The law went into effect on July 1.
On Monday, prosecutors charged William Louis, 41, with aggravated assault, a third-degree felony with a road range enhancement, stemming from an incident Friday that another driver said began in Saratoga Springs and ended in his Eagle Mountain neighborhood.
Corbin Curtis told KSL-TV he was driving home when he encountered the truck driver.
"I sped up to get around one of the cars and the truck that was in front of it — I guess he thought I was trying to get in front of him," Curtis said Tuesday. "He stomps on his gas and then has to slam on his brakes and then gives me the middle finger."
Curtis said the truck driver then continued to follow him as he headed along Mountain View Corridor and then onto state Route 73.
"I just see him hauling from behind me — like probably going 95," Curtis said. "I was going 60 where it is right there."
Curtis said the driver continued to follow him into his neighborhood, where he said the man pulled up next to him near the Ranches Golf Club.
"He was like, 'If you keep driving like a b-word, I'm gonna' — and then I heard him cock his gun and point it up at my head level — and he's like, 'I'm gonna shoot you in the effing face.'"
Curtis said he began to get nervous and shake because he had never been in a situation like that.
"He was like, 'You better drive off before I blast you,'" Curtis said.
He was like, 'You better drive off before I blast you.'
–Corbin Curtis
Deputies ultimately located Louis Friday and detained him, said Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Reynolds.
"Our suspect then stated that he was in a road rage incident," a police booking affidavit states. "The suspect described a similar combination as the reporting party earlier had. The suspect made statements that he had a firearm in his truck and wanted to protect himself. When I asked him to explain what he meant, suspect stated that after arguing with the other driver, he pulled a gun out and showed it to the other driver."
Deputies arrested Louis and booked him into the Utah County Jail.
Reynolds said the sheriff's office has dealt with several road rage cases in the Eagle Mountain area.
"We've had a lot of serious incidents," Reynolds said. "It seems by the time they get to the Eagle Mountain area, there are frustrations that have mounted."
Reynolds told KSL he believes the new road rage enhancement will prove to be a deterrent in these cases. "We're very hopeful it will curb this driving pattern and these behaviors on the road," he said.
The sergeant urged drivers to stay calm and kind behind the wheel.
Curtis said he is grateful the situation didn't end any worse than it did.
"It was very, very scary, honestly," he said.
