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September 15, 2005
Road Rage Gone Horribly Wrong
I didn't see this on any other NJ blogs yesterday and I thought the news story was very interesting.
LINDENWOLD — A Lindenwold man who authorities say was assaulted during a road rage incident died Tuesday.James D. Munter, 53, suffered severe head injuries when he was punched twice by a 17-year-old borough resident, authorities said.
Sarubbi offered the following account of the incident: Munter, a computer programmer at the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia, was returning home from work around 5:30 p.m. Monday.
He was driving his 1999 Mercury Sable along the White Horse Pike in Laurel Springs when the teenager cut him off in his 2003 Dodge Durango.
I know what you are thinking - damn kid. I hate being cut off, especially by SUVs. But wait, there's more to this story.
Munter followed the juvenile and began screaming at him.The teenager became concerned and used a cell phone to call his father. The father urged his son to drive home.
Munter followed the teenager to the boy's home about three miles away. The teen stopped his car across the street from his house. He got out and ran toward the home, crossing in front of Munter's vehicle.
Munter drove into the teenager, hitting him and causing him to land on the hood of the Mercury.
The teen, whom Zucker said is about 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, rolled off the hood of Munter's car, landed on his feet, walked to the driver's side of the car and punched Munter twice in the head.
Munter was not breathing when he arrived at the hospital, so he was placed on a ventilator, his wife Nadine said. Doctors tried twice to remove it, but Munter still was unable to breathe on his own. He died at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday.
The teen was ordered to remain in the Camden County Youth Detention Center, at least until a hearing scheduled for Thursday. Zucker said he hoped his client would be released to his parents then.
"It's a true tragedy because it certainly escalated into something that shouldn't have happened," Zucker said. "He was almost killed."
Zucker said three officials at the school where his client was a junior wrote letters supporting him, praising him as a good student and good citizen.
What a goddamn shame. If this doesn't change the way people act on the roads, nothing will.
Posted by Cate at September 15, 2005 05:25 PM
Comments
Not only could the kid have legal troubles, he also has to live with this on his conscience. The problem with youth today is the adults around them.
Posted by: marydell at September 15, 2005 07:37 PM
This is too bad. Personally I think the kid shouldn't get more than a wrist slap. Self-defense is the first law of survival.
Posted by: Old Horsetail Snake at September 16, 2005 10:11 AM
One of the key points of contention is that the kid could have called the police or could have run into the house, that he didn't need to punch the man twice.
Posted by: Kate at September 16, 2005 10:34 AM
Its a shame all around and sadly things like this are getting better they are getting worse. We hear about road rage things here all the time. The roads suck, people get upset and people die. We have had more people shot because of road rage here. I started listen to books on my way to and from work. The traffic doesn't bother me anymore.
Posted by: Tom at September 16, 2005 03:32 PM
Unfortunately, it won't.
Posted by: Sooz at September 16, 2005 07:11 PM
