Joe received 13 stitches on his nose and forehead and staples in his head after he says he was attacked by a man during a road rage incident May 13 in Hesperia
HESPERIA — More than one week after a man was beaten in a road rage incident, the Hesperia resident that his stitches and staples have been removed from his face and head and that deputies are working to find the guy who beat him up.
Joe, who asked only to be identified by his first name for safety reasons, said that he was driving a green Toyota pickup truck east on Ranchero Road approaching Maple Avenue around 9:30 p.m. May 13. He said he was behind a white sedan and a black, "older model" Dodge Durango that seemed to be "brake checking each other."
"They were constantly almost coming to abrupt stops," Joe said Thursday evening. "I was finally able to get around them and stopped at (the intersection of) Maple Avenue (and Ranchero Road). As I was stopped, the passenger in the white sedan next to me was hanging out of the window yelling obscenities. At that point I just had my hands up like, 'Hey, I don't know what your problem is.'"
He said that he continued driving east when the passenger then threw what he believes to be beer cans at his car.
"I believe they were two beer cans, like 40-ounce beers," Joe said.
According to Joe, the sedan then cut in front of him, running him off the road and onto the dirt shoulder on the south side of the road.
"The passenger was already running toward me at this point," Joe said. "So I went to get out of my car, and as I got out and opened my door, he kicked the door closed and it came back and hit me in the face."
He said the door split his forehead and nose open and then the back of his head hit the door frame, splitting it open. Joe said the suspect had an object that appeared to be a flashlight that he used to hit him.
"Then he hit me with the flashlight on the left side of my head," Joe said. "My left ribs are also sore and I don't know why. I think I blacked out for a minute there."
The suspect, who Joe describes as a white man in his mid-20s with light blonde, spiked hair, was wearing an orange shirt and was one of two passengers in the white sedan.
"They were yelling at each other to get back in the car," Joe said. "So they know what they did."
He said the sedan took off southbound on Cottonwood Avenue and he drove the short distance home. He and his wife went to Desert Valley Hospital, where he received stitches on his face and staples in his head.
"I took May 14 and 15 off work," said Joe, who works at a prison as a corrections officer. "I've been back at work all week, and my inmates are like, "Hey man, we saw you on TV."
Emergency room personnel called law enforcement when Joe told them the story behind his injuries. He said a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputy took a report at the hospital. The deputy said he would try to get fingerprints off the beer cans at the scene, Joe said.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information about the suspect is urged to contact the Hesperia Sheriff's Station at 760-947-1500.