A second woman is speaking out about her run-in with a road rage suspect on I-84 Tuesday. Kimberly Harris, of Waterbury, was on her way to work in Southbury when she noticed the man speeding up behind her, just minutes before he attacked another woman’s vehicle in that same area.
Update: Connecticut State Police arrested the suspect on Wednesday.
A second woman is speaking out about her run-in with a road rage suspect on I-84 Tuesday morning.
Kimberly Harris, of Waterbury, was on her way to work in Southbury when she noticed the man speeding up behind her, just minutes before he attacked another woman’s vehicle in that same area.
“I looked in my mirror and I saw him coming down the highway really fast, and I said, let me move over for him,” Harris said. “He followed me over and went right around me on my right side, and then he just pulled up next to my door. I mean, if I opened the window, you could have reached out and touched him, he was so close. He just sat there at my window as I was driving. He just kept staring in.”
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She said she was with her husband, and the pair were confused as to why he was angry with them.
“He just looked like he was angry at the world,” she said.
The man drove off at a high rate of speed, and Harris said she noticed him cutting in between other drivers. Farther up I-84, she noticed traffic was slowing down.
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When she saw video recorded by Alison McIntire shared with NBC Connecticut, she realized that’s what was going on.
McIntire, who was also on her way to work, said the man stopped short in front of her, got out of his car, walked around to her passenger side door and started kicking it repeatedly.
Her vehicle is now dented in multiple places, and her mirror was ripped off.
“Honestly, I was like 'what? What is actually wrong with this guy? Why would you stop in the middle of the highway and get out of your car?' you know?” McIntire said.
Both women said they don’t know the man or what set him off. Harris said she and her husband feel lucky it wasn’t worse for them.
“I said, that could have been anybody,” Harris said. “Thank God, I’m glad he didn’t hurt nobody but that could have been us, could have been anyone. We were just minding our business and I was just being polite, I moved over like you’re supposed to.”
Connecticut State Police spent Tuesday searching for the man, remaining tight-lipped about their investigation. Only saying the suspect displayed a gun on I-84 in Waterbury that morning, and there’s no active threat to the community.
State police said the investigation is ongoing.
After the incident, Connecticut Senate Republicans released a statement, writing “Road rage’ incidents are escalating, turning our highways into a lawless battleground. It’s time to stiffen penalties for these violent crimes and ensure those who endanger lives face real consequences.”
Sen. Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield), ranking member of the Transportation Committee, said current laws need to be better enforced.
“Safety on our roads is very, very much in doubt,” he said. “We need to start enforcing the laws that we have. That means we need to increase staffing for our law enforcement, state troopers that are on our roads, they need to be readily available and present for people to obey the laws that we have.”
Rep. Steve Stafstrom (D-Bridgeport), House chair of the Judiciary Committee, said it’s important to let the justice system play out in this case.
“We know from all the criminal justice data that just increasing penalties does not deter crime,” he said. “What deters crime is bringing folks to justice for the crimes they've committed. So, arresting this individual and charging them with the crimes they've committed is more likely to deter future crime than certainly a press release or some feel good legislation about increasing the penalties for crimes we don't even know what this person's going to be charged with.”
