SARASOTA, Fla. — In one moment, a motorcyclist is seen arguing with a person in a gray car.
The next: he's sideswiped and thrown to the curb from the car's impact.
Authorities are looking to identify the driver behind the wheel of the gray Mazda 3 hatchback seen in a video captured by a witness.
The apparent road rage incident happened around 5 p.m. Saturday, April 7, near the intersection of South Beneva Road and Webber Street, according to a Sarasota County Sheriff's Office news release.
The video shows some sort of argument between the motorcyclist and the driver.
Darin Hendrickson is the motorcyclist involved. He told 10News that after he turned onto Beneva Road he was brake-checked by the driver in the gray sedan.
"I kind of threw up my hands like ‘why would you just do that?’ so then I started to pass them to not have that happen again," Hendrickson told 10News.
That's when Hendrickson claims the driver began swerving before throwing something at him when he, once again, attempted to pass. Hendrickson believes it was loose change.
“There were sparks coming off my bike… it hurt and then I looked down and there’s nics and scratches all along the bike," Hendrickson said.
“I proceeded to follow him and I was quite angry at that time because I had been hurt and he wouldn’t pull over.”
Hendrickson says he began yelling at the driver to pull over. That's when a witness in a vehicle following behind began to record the exchange.
In the video, it appears Hendrickson is seen hitting the car's passenger-side window, but Hendrickson claims he never made contact with the vehicle.
Moments later, the video shows the driver veer into Hendrickson on his motorcycle, causing him to fall to the curb.
"I thought I was dead," Hendrickson said.
Asked why he didn't just steer clear of the driver following the initial brake-check, Hendrickson said he couldn't let it go after the driver allegedly threw the coins at him.
"This is my property, this is something I’ve worked hard for and if I would’ve pulled up to your vehicle and I would’ve thrown a handful of quarters at your vehicle you probably would’ve gotten behind me and followed me to the next light to say something to me or called the cops," he said.
Hendrickson says he suffered a fractured rib and has staples in his knee.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at 941-861-4317.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10 News app now.
Have a news tip? Email tips@wtsp.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
