Surveillance video captures dramatic fight following road rage incident

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) - A road rage incident in Oakland County ended with a vicious beating caught on surveillance video.

It started with two vehicles in a construction zone on Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills. Both drivers pulled over into the entrance way of the BP gas station at 13 Mile.

A woman driving an SUV got out of her vehicle to confront the other driver in a sports car.

Who throws the first punch is unclear but what is clear from the video Action News obtained from the gas station is that the man is pummeling the woman, punching her, and pinning her down on the hood of her SUV. She tries to fight back and the two end up on the ground.

Police tell Action News, whoever started the altercation, the man went too far.

The man has been identified as 54-year-old Steven Schut of Youngstown, Ohio. He appears to have a black eye and scratches in a mugshot.

Inside the BP, manager Sevan Orow was working the register when a customer came in and told him two people were fighting.

"My brother and I walked outside, we saw a man on top of a woman, punching her in the face," says Orow.

Orow says it was the worst thing he had ever seen.

"We pushed him off, we're assuming it's done and over with, about two seconds later he's stomping her chest," says Orow. "We grabbed him, threw him against the car, he got in his car and took off."

Before driving off, Schut did give some indication why he was so angry.

"I heard him say 'look what she did to my face'," remembers Orow.

Sevan says the woman, a 34-year-old from Farmington Hills, is a regular customer but her face was so badly beaten he didn’t know who she was at first.

Sevan and his brother got ice for the victim and she can be seen on the video holding her face and going back to her car. He says she was looking for her glasses.

Police caught up with Schut about two miles away in West Bloomfield at 15 mile and Orchard Lake. Police smelled pot, searched his car and found marijuana inside.

Court records obtained by Action News show that Schut is unemployed.

Investigators, who say both people bit each other during the fight, are still trying to figure out what exactly led up to it. There are conflicting stories about the road rage incident.

"One driver's alleging that the other driver cut them off, and one thing escalated to the next as it went up Orchard Lake Road from 12 Mile to 13 Mile," says Farmington Hills Police Chief Chuck Nebus.

Schut pled not guilty at his arraignment. He is charged with two misdemeanors of aggravated assault and possession of marijuana. He has been released on bond.

Schut did not return a message left on his voicemail Wednesday.

"My client adamantly denies the allegations being made against him and we intend on vigorously defending against these false accusations," his attorney Victor Mansour told Action News.

Both people were treated for their injuries at a hospital and released. The woman had a fractured face. 

Nebus say this is a reminder that if you are involved in a road rage incident, you should call 911, pull over at a public place or police station, and never get out of your car to confront anyone.