A Leesburg man was arrested following a road rage incident in which he hit another driver with an umbrella and started a physical altercation.
Officer responded to a road rage incident at 714 Perkins St. around 5:06 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. Upon their arrival, the officers met with 61-year-old Victor Samuel Arcuri and the victim. One spoke to the former while the others interviewed the latter.
Arcuri advised that he was traveling in the middle southbound lane on U.S. Highway 441 in his red 2008 Nissan truck. As he went through the yellow light at the intersection with Citizen’s Boulevard, the victim’s gray 2005 Honda SUV also went through in the right lane and tried to merge into his lane by cutting him off, the report said.
As the vehicles approached the light at Perkins Street, Arcuri moved into the right lane and started arguing with the victim. The verbal argument ended, and Arcuri pushed the right ride-view mirror of the victim’s car, causing it to open further than it was designed to. He then continued driving and turned right onto Perkins Street, the report said.
The victim passed Arcuri and got in front of him just to stop abruptly. Arcuri went to go around the victim’s vehicle on the right side, but the victim pulled further to the right and blocked his path. The victim then came out of his vehicle and began to yell at him, the report said.
Arcuri heard the victim state he would follow him home, to which he said, “If you follow me, see what happens.” The victim walked to Arcuri’s front center bumper of his vehicle and kicked it with his right foot. This caused Arcuri to step out of his vehicle and begin to fight the victim. He could not remember who started the altercation, the report said.
While speaking with Arcuri, the officer observed two small blood stains on his t-shirt, a small laceration on the bottom left corner of his lip and slight scratches on three of five knuckles on his left hand. The officer was then informed by other officers that there were two independent witnesses who saw what happened. Before speaking with them, he talked to the victim, the report said.
The victim advised that he was at the traffic light on U.S. Highway 441 approaching Parkins Street when he observed Arcuri’s vehicle beside him. Arcuri began to yell at him about his driving. The victim ignored his antics and observed him smacking his front right rear mirror, the report said.
The victim later turned down Perkins Street and stopped his vehicle to check on his mirror. He observed scratches around the area, and he advised that repairs should cost $100, the report said.
Arcuri then followed the victim and struck his vehicle’s rear bumper. He stepped out of his vehicle with a black polka-dot umbrella and struck the victim’s right arm with it, attempting to hit him again. The victim dodged the second attempt and tried to record Arcuri with his cell phone. He was unable to turn on his phone due to being afraid, the report said.
Arcuri dropped the umbrella and struck the victim with an open-handed strike. The victim defended himself and struck him back with an open hand. As the physical altercation escalated, one of the two witnesses separated them. The victim contacted law enforcement soon after, the report said.
While speaking with the victim, the officer observed a slight scratch on his right cheek, small scratches on his nose and a small bruise on his bottom lip. He also saw red paint transferred on his vehicle’s rear bumper. It was confirmed that the victim’s injuries and red paint transfer on his bumper corroborated his statement, the report said.
The officer proceeded to speak with the officers who interviewed the two witnesses. The first witness stated he was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 441 when he saw the victim’s vehicle cut off Arcuri and put his vehicle in front of him. As the witness traveled between them, he observed Arcuri and the victim arguing, the report said.
The witness then heard the victim say he was going to follow Arcuri, to which he replied, “If you do, I will shoot you.” The witness was going in the same direction as them and stopped behind them near the incident location on Perkins Street. He saw Arcuri step out of his vehicle with an umbrella and strike the victim with it, the report said.
Soon after, the two were in a physical altercation. The witness separated them and waited until law enforcement arrived, the report said.
The second witness stated he observed Arcuri step out of his vehicle and strike the victim with an umbrella. He also saw Arcuri’s vehicle front bumper striking the victim’s rear bumper prior to the combat. Both of the witnesses’ statements corroborated with the victim’s account of the incident, the report said.
Next, officers read Arcuri his rights, which he understood and agreed to speak with officers. They reinterviewed him and confirmed his statement, after which he was apprehended, the report said.
Arcuri was charged with simple battery and criminal mischief ($200 or less). He was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $2,000 bond.