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Road-rage pursuit ends with battery
By Jeff Kearns
The morning rush spawned a violent attack last Wednesday when a man, allegedly angered by being cut off, followed the offending driver to Cupertino and beat the San Francisco resident.
Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies arrested Donald S. House, 47, also of San Francisco, for felony battery on April 5 after witnessing him attack the victim at a stoplight on North De Anza Boulevard at Homestead Road. The victim, headed to work in Sunnyvale, suffered a broken nose and several lacerations from repeated punches to the face. Paramedics took the victim to Kaiser-Permanente Hospital in Santa Clara.
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Hirokawa said the victim looked badly beaten by the much larger attacker. Hirokawa said House measures 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds. The victim, whose name officials would not release, was described as 32 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and 170 pounds. Hirokawa said the victim's name would remain confidential for his protection.
The incident reportedly started before 8 a.m. on southbound Interstate 280 near Interstate 380 in San Bruno when the victim, changed lanes in front of House.
The men exchanged hand gestures on the freeway. The victim told investigators his gesture was an "apologetic wave." House dropped behind the victim's vehicle and followed him south until he exited. The victim, who was driving a Subaru hatchback, was unaware that House was following him until he spotted the suspect's Chevrolet sedan behind him after turning left onto De Anza Boulevard from the freeway.
At the traffic light at Homestead Road and De Anza Boulevard, House got out of his car and tried to open the door to the victim's car. Unable to open the locked door, House started tinkering with the antenna and mirror on the victim's car, Hirokawa said. House then retreated to the rear of the car and squatted out of the driver's sight. Reportedly thinking House was letting air our of his tires, the victim opened his door.
House grabbed the driver and started punching him in the face. Hirokawa said the driver tried to escape to the passenger seat, but House pulled the driver on to the street by his legs and continued to punch the victim.
Charles Chilton, an off-duty Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy who was driving with his family, spotted the assault and intervened. Another deputy, James Post, who was on patrol in the area, drove by and also interrupted the attack.
The presence of the officers was pure luck. Hirokawa said 911 dispatchers received no word of the incident. No members of the public intervened, perhaps out of shock or fear of the sizable aggressor, Hirokawa said.
House was taken to Santa Clara County Jail and booked on a charge of felony battery. He was later released on his own recognizance. Hirokawa said road-rage incidents aren't common, but anyone who is faced with another irate and possibly violent motorist should stay in the car, lock the doors and drive to a populated area.
He said he could not remember any angry motorists going to the lengths House did to exact revenge.
Staff reporter Sam Scott contributed to this report
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
