Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- A driver was arrested for a road rage near Brighton High School.
- The incident involved a driver repeatedly hitting another car at a school crosswalk, police say.
- Brett Orin Wardle was arrested for investigation of aggravated assault and reckless driving.
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A driver who allegedly became impatient with another driver stopped ahead of him at a school crosswalk has been arrested in a road rage investigation.
The incident happened about 12:20 p.m. Friday near Brighton High School, 2220 Bengal Blvd. A woman told police that she was "stopped in traffic at a school crosswalk which was occupied by high school children when the vehicle behind her became angry that she was not moving forward and impacted the back of her vehicle," according to a police booking affidavit.
The woman said the driver bumped the rear of her car several more times until she was finally able to pull forward past the crosswalk. The man then drove ahead of her — while several students were still in the crosswalk, according to police — and got out of his car to confront the woman.
"She attempted to record him and (he) began to berate her. The victim stated she was so concerned for her safety that she refused to exit her vehicle and the driver eventually left," the affidavit states.
The woman was able to take a picture of the driver and the license plate number of his vehicle. Police also collected surveillance video from the high school that "shows at least three distinct impacts of the suspect forcibly contacting the rear end of the victim's vehicle," the affidavit alleges. "Then the suspect driver moving through the school crosswalk while it had high school students still in it. Suspect is also observed on the video surveillance get out of his vehicle, check the front of his vehicle for damage, then proceed to the victim's vehicle consistent with the victim's statement."
Damage to the woman's car was estimated to be about $1,000.
Brett Orin Wardle, 50, was contacted by police by phone. He initially denied hitting the woman's vehicle, the affidavit states. On Tuesday, he turned himself in to police and was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault, reckless driving, causing property damage and failing to yield to pedestrians. Each count was filed with a road rage penalty enhancement.
