Two Leesburg men were arrested as the result of a road rage incident.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office dispatch communications center received a 911 call from 21-year-old Matthew Michael Morales who said his car had been rear ended Monday and that he was following the pickup that had hit him. The dispatcher told him that he should stop following the suspect and let the deputies handle the situation. Morales did not follow instructions and tried to force open the truck’s driver’s side door when the driver, later identified as 73-year-old William Thomas McCullough, stopped at the Home Depot store in Leesburg.
McCullough accelerated away from Morales who followed him to McCullough’s residence at 12039 Lake Pines Road. Morales was still on the phone when he opened the door to McCullough’s truck, pulled him out of the truck and threw him to the ground. The New York native was recorded by the dispatcher as announcing, “I got him on the ground.”
Four people including McCullough’s brother saw what was happening and heard Morales screaming. When McCullough’s brother told Morales to let his brother alone he was spit on by Morales who was using foul language and racial slurs.
When the deputies arrived they separated the parties and noted in their report that Morales car had damage to the rear and that McCullough’s truck had front end damage. McCullough told the deputies that he did not realize he hit anything and that he was frightened by the way Morales was following him so he did not stop. A check of McCullough’s driving record revealed that he has had five drunk driving convictions and that his license had been revoked since 2013. He was charged with felony driving while revoked as leaving the scene of an accident with property damage. He was transported to the Lake County Jail where he posted $10,000 bond.
Morales was charged with aggravated battery on a person over 65 years of age and burglary to an occupied conveyance with battery. He was taken to the Lake County Jail where he posted $30,000 bond.
