A Westland man is behind bars after he reportedly forced a mother and young child off the road in a road rage incident that left her car damaged.
Lincoln Park police say it happened Monday morning as the mother was driving her 10-year-old boy to Lafayette Elementary School in Lincoln Park.
The pair was stopped at a red light on Lafayette Boulevard near Southfield Road when someone in a black Dodge Avenger almost hit them. The mother rolled down the window and yelled at the driver to be careful.
That apparently angered the Dodge driver, who then pulled into a nearby parking lot and pulled out in front of the mother back onto Lafayette. For several blocks he drove directly in front of her, braking repeatedly. When the driver veered right, the woman thought she was in the clear, but he quickly swerved left and rammed into the passenger side, where her son was sitting. The driver continued to accelerate after hitting her car, and pushed them into the intersection, just two blocks away from school.
Police say the driver was irate when officers arrived. He was also driving without a valid license.
30-year-old Colon Lowery III was arrested at the scene and was arraigned in 25th District Court Wednesday, charged as a habitual offender, with felonious assault with a motor vehicle.
Police say there’s a lesson for both the overreacting driver and the mother.
“It turned into a lot more than she was asking for,” Lincoln Park Police Chief Raymond Watters said. “You really have to be thick-skinned and just have to ignore some of these things on the road,” he added.
Lowery was released on bond. He is due back in court on Oct. 13 for a probable cause hearing.
