Road Rage At Starbucks, And On Local Freeway: Incidents Persist In IE

RIVERSIDE, CA — A violent confrontation over the weekend at a Riverside Starbucks stemmed from an alleged road rage incident, police said, and research suggests the dangerous behavior is on the rise.

Sunday's incident unfurled around 4 p.m. A driver allegedly changed lanes in front of a motorist, prompting a chase to a Starbucks drive-thru at 371 E. Alessandro Blvd.

The male motorist, who was apparently cut off, got out of his vehicle, confronted the other driver, and began choking him, according to multiple media reports.

The victim grabbed a knife and stabbed the suspect in the arm, police told news outlets. The suspect ran but was found nearby.

Both men were treated at a hospital; the suspect was expected to be booked on suspicion of assault.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines road rage as "an intentional assault by a driver or passenger with a motor vehicle or a weapon that occurs on the roadway or is precipitated by an incident on the roadway."

It's not uncommon anymore.

About half of Americans (49%) say people in their area are driving more dangerously than before the coronavirus pandemic, while only 9% say people are driving more safely, according to a Pew Research Center survey released in November.

In its survey, Pew generally defines dangerous driving habits as distracted driving, reckless driving, impaired driving, and/or road rage.

While there’s no one definitive data source for how common dangerous driving really is, available data indicates Americans’ driving habits have worsened over the past five years, at least in some ways, the Pew findings suggest.

California does not have particularly punishing laws that specifically address road rage, though many cases are charged under existing assault and/or homicide laws.

However, California Vehicle Code 13210 finds that courts can suspend the driving privileges of any operator who commits an assault on another road user (drivers, cyclists, pedestrians).

The road rage suspension period is six months for a first offense and one year for a second or subsequent offense to commence, at the discretion of the court. The court can also order a convicted motorist to complete a court-approved anger management or "road rage" course, according to the state vehicle code.

While Sunday's incident did not involve a firearm, deadly gun violence on U.S. roadways is up, according to the Pew findings: As of October 2024, 116 people had been killed in road rage incidents involving guns, versus 109 through the first 10 months of 2023.

One doesn't have to go far to find examples of local roadway shootings.

On Monday, a 24-year-old woman was arrested and booked on suspicion of attempted murder during an alleged road rage incident.

According to a California Highway Patrol news release, the incident unfolded around 8:15 a.m. in westbound lanes of the 10 Freeway, east of Riverside Avenue in the San Bernardino area.

The woman, later identified as Loma Linda resident Angeline Marie Gable, was driving a gray Nissan Rogue, and allegedly became angry when another motorist made a lane change.

Gable pulled alongside the victim, the driver of a black 2024 Honda Civic, and fired a handgun, striking the vehicle multiple times, according to the CHP. No injuries were reported.

Gable was tracked down and later booked into San Bernardino County Detention Center on multiple felony charges, including attempted murder and discharging a firearm at an occupied vehicle.

"Deliberate acts of violence such as these will not be tolerated," CHP Captain Lance Berns said.