Roid rage. I see these guys at the gym, acne, bad smell, freakishly huge. Unfortunately no match for a 3200 lb. Nissan Altima.

If the guy got out of his car and started pounding on the other car and physically threatened the other driver then he deserved to get run over. One less idiot off the streets who could have just as easily done the same thing to anyone else. That may be callous but the reality is that the kid could have been freaked out and just wanted to get out of there, adrenalin kicked in, gas went to the floor. Thud. The reality that he just ran over the guy probably didn't sink in right away.

This reminds me of another road rage incident in my area. Some lady exited the freeway to get away from some lunatic driver. He followed her and got out of his car at a red light and started banging on her window. She shot him dead with her 38 revolver. Self defense, true story.

The kid had a little bit of a history too, though none that violent...

Potts was arrested in 2007 on charges of possession of burglar tools and marijuana, resisting arrest, third-degree criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. He pleaded guilty to some of the charges, according to court records.

This was no innocent kid caught in a bad situation... seems like he did some provoking at some point.

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No one deserves to get run over for pounding on a car.
What he did deserve is a night in Jail, a very heavy
fine, restitution for a damaged vehicle, and anger
management classes.

Now all thats left is a tragedy that will effect the lives
of too many people. In my mind that's the real reality
a reality that could have been avoided.

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Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Sure, it's better that the whole thing never happened but the reality is that there are people out there who will overreact to a traffic incident and will follow someone and take the additional step of getting out of their car and threatening the other driver. That other driver could be you or me and has in fact, been me. Putting aside the purported facts of the news story in this thread, would you be in fear for your personal safety, even your life, if some crazed and enraged man who happens to be larger than you is banging on your door, threatening to do all kinds of violent things to you, maybe even trying to yank your door open? Would you want to be second guessed Monday morning quarterback style and have your fear and emotions questioned? "Hey Barry, you shouldn't have been afraid. He didn't mean it. He was just having a bad day. You shouldn't have been afraid. Being afraid was unreasonable." I don't think anyone can second guess what YOU feel at the moment you're being threatened.

At the moment this enraged person is trying to do his best to rearrange your face is it reasonable for you, or anyone, to determine that the person just needs anger management or the penalty of a big fine? I think that your and anyone's primary thought at that moment is survival. No one in their right mind would sit there and gamble that the lunatic banging on their window is just going to get bored and walk away. A reasonable person would try to stop the threat or get away. (There is no legal requirement that a victim retreat from a threat.) If in the course of getting away the attacker is injured or killed, should you be held liable if you were in fear and you were merely trying to escape the threat? If I were on your jury I'd vote to acquit.

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I realize that as you say "there are people out there who will overreact to a traffic incident and will
follow someone and take the additional step of getting out of their car and threatening the other driver.

So the question is what would I do "if some crazed and enraged man who happens to be larger than
you is banging on your door, threatening to do all kinds of violent things to you,
maybe even trying to yank your door open?

It already has happened to me on more than one occasion.
As long as there's no gun involved what I have found is that
there are other measures to handle the situation without taking
a persons life.

IMO Taking someones life is just not an acceptable
answer when someone else is angry and there are other
reasonable options.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Am I a bad guy for thinking that Porsche driver got what he deserved??

Perhaps he did not deserve to die...But then again...maybe, just maybe, when you make it a POINT to get out of your car and physically attack someone else's property and engage in physical threats, you wind up reaping what you sowed.

I'm sure we'll get more facts coming out during the trial. But as someone who has encountered more than one "road rager", I can sympathize with the defendant in this case. The defense attorney will need to convince the jury that his client felt a clear and present threat to his physical safety, and that the use of deadly force was applicable. I'm rooting for the defense!

BTW, noticed RH pointed out the kid has a minor record. But that same story says the "victim" (Porsche guy) was ticketed TWICE recently for "following too closely". The poor "victim" sounds like your typical tail-gating sports car A-hole...

Funny, I just read about another incident this morning. What if someone like this guy --armed with a box cutter, attacked you while you were in your car with your kid(s) at a traffic light? (assuming you were not armed)

Fight or flight? I'm guessing gas pedal hitting the floor, if scumbag jumps in front of the car, oh well...thud.

Man stabbed in road rage confrontation | KATU.com - Portland, Oregon | Local & Regional

Your bad for not being armed Fight, hit them with your car!

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Actually my CPL is up to date so it probably would have been a different story. Avoidance is still the best defense so I still probably would put my foot down in that situation just to get out of there. I would never pull out a weapon unless I intended to use it and only as a last resort.

We all hit a boiling point with traffic, work stress, etc. It takes 2 drivers to cause an incident, I've had my share of altercations and it''s just not worth it. Lately I find that when I feel the urge to flip someone the bird, I just whip out the peace sign...

This confuses people and diffuses the situation a majority of the time.