Angry driver pulls pistol on 18-year-old learning to drive with dad, Florida cops say

An 18-year-old girl taking driving lessons from her dad experienced road rage first hand when another driver threatened to shoot her, according to Florida investigators.

No shots were fired, but the girl was “scared to the point where she no longer wanted to drive,” the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office reported in an affidavit.

The incident happened around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, near a Deltona Publix grocery store, and the suspect has been arrested, the report says. Deltona is about 30 miles northeast of Orlando.

Investigators say the conflict erupted when the student driver, who has a learner’s permit, entered an intersection and cut off an SUV that had the right of way.

The SUV driver then made a U-turn, blocked the path of the girl’s vehicle, and threatened to “shoot both of them,” while displaying “a pistol in a holster,” the report says.

Investigators say the father and daughter got the driver’s tag number, which led deputies to the SUV parked outside a home in Deltona, officials said.

“Deputies conducted a pat down (of the suspect) and located a black Ruger LCP in a black holster in (his) pocket,” the affidavit says.

Volusia County jail records show the 59-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, third-degree felony with a weapon and improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon.

This story was originally published February 15, 2024 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Angry driver pulls pistol on 18-year-old learning to drive with dad, Florida cops say."