Every now and then, while driving, you get cut off, or see someone speeding, and your blood just boils. You cross your fingers and toes that, a couple of miles down the road, they’ll get snagged by a speeding camera or caught by a cop. But you take a breath, refusing to let road rage get the best of you. Then there are people like this guy, who was caught by a dashcam cut someone off, throwing a hammer in a fit of rage.

Man throws hammer, then drives over the curb

The sequence of events is strange and surreal, but the setup is even more confusing. According to Fox 8 news, the Jeep was honking at the other driver on the interstate, perhaps for driving too slow. To “avoid highway confrontation,” the driver exited. But exiting the highway didn’t prevent any confrontation at all.

After exiting the off-ramp and, a bald, shirtless man (just reporting the facts) cuts off our dashcam driver in what we think is a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee. From, there, he pulls a hammer and lobs it, full force, at the windshield of his target. Talk about road rage!

After ever so calmly getting back into his car, he mashes on the gas and makes an illegal u-turn. But, using the car’s ride height and 4WD system to his advantage, he hops the curb and speeds off. After all the chaos ensued, the other driver turned the dashcam footage into the police, and the hammer-wielding hot head was brought into custody.

It sounds like a Florida Man story, but this actually happened in Washington state. And as you look deeper into this strange set of circumstances, it just keeps getting weirder.

Wait a second… that’s not a hammer

Look closer at the video provided by the King County Sheriff’s Office and you’ll realize that this road enraged friend (I use “friend” loosely) is actually using a pickaxe. One could justify a hammer in a car, even if it’s a bit of a stretch, but a pickaxe raises more questions about the suspect.

Well, some of those questions were answered immediately after the footage was brought to the police. Identifying the man was easy, as he apparently already racked up multiple felony charges. What for you might ask? For fleeing officers or course! Perhaps that’s why he was in such a rush on the interstate.

What’s stranger is that these police chases happened in Snohomish County, located about 60 miles from King County. Had our pickaxe pal just hung low, maybe he would’ve gotten away.

There are two important things to take away from this story: for starters, it had a happy ending. Nobody was hurt (after all, a pickaxe to the face would be deadly), and the suspect was apprehended. But more importantly, this is an excellent reason to own a dashcam.

Dash cams can help catch pickaxe related road rage

Not a sentence I ever thought I’d write, but it’s true. Without the dashcam, all the driver would’ve had is a brand new pickaxe. Sure, that’s good proof, but it isn’t solid proof. After all, if someone told me a random guy cut them off and lobbed a pickaxe at their windshield, I’d be incredibly confused, and a little skeptical. It’s one of those “see it to believe it” situations, and now we’ve all seen it.

I personally use a dashcam. And while I have encountered anyone trying to break my windshield with mining equipment, it’s been great on road trips and for general peace of mind. Getting one would also encourage you to be a better driver, as if you get into an accident that’s your fault, the police can use that against you.

The moral of the story? Don’t fall victim to road rage. Watch out for 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees. And consider purchasing a dashcam if you lie awake at night worried about pickaxe throwing felons.