Road rage incident leads to man being threatened, choked

• Reprints

Updated: November 3, 2011 4:51PM

A Lake County resident of Lakes of the Four Seasons was threatened, choked and slammed into his vehicle on Saturday by a man who rear-ended him while driving on Lake/Porter County Line Road.

The 33-year-old victim told police he was driving north on Lake/Porter County Line Road when a dark-colored, full-size SUV pulled out in front of him at north County Road 600. The victim passed the SUV, but once he was back in the northbound lane, the SUV struck him from behind.

When he pulled over and got out to look at the damage, the SUV’s driver reportedly grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him into his car. He told police the unknown man threatened to kill him and repeatedly cursed at him. He said he was about to black out from being choked when a woman got out of the SUV and pulled off the driver; they then left northbound on County Line Road.

The victim’s mother and three small children in his car witnessed the attack. So did another driver, who told police she was following the SUV and was forced to stop when the SUV did. All the witnesses gave police approximately the same description of the events as the victim.

The driver of the SUV was described as in his 30s, approximately 5-feet 11-inches tall and 220 pounds, with a muscular build. He was white or Hispanic, either bald or with closely-shaved hair, wearing earrings, blue jeans and a dark-colored tank top. The victim also provided police with the SUV’s license plate number, which is registered to two Hobart men living at different addresses, according to the police report.