Watch: Angry Witness Grabs Sledgehammer, Takes on Hit-and-Run Driver
Several anonymous heroes are receiving praise, including one man who chose the perfect time to have a sledgehammer in his possession, after numerous passerby attempted to stop a hit-and-run driver in Miami, Florida.
The accident, which happened Sunday morning, quickly became a chaotic mess of shouts as good Samaritans followed the driver along Biscayne Boulevard.
Video of the aftermath of the crash shows one man using a sledgehammer to try and break the window glass of the silver Infiniti SUV just before the driver took off.
Though the suspect initially escaped, numerous cars pursued his vehicle, and police eventually caught him. The suspect was identified him as 25-year-old Maxwell Lagutenko — and this isn’t his first time he’s had trouble with the law.
According to the Miami Herald, Lagutenko was being held in the Miami-Dade County jail on a $5,000 bond. He faced charges ranging from fleeing the scene of an accident with property damage to reckless driving and eluding a police officer as he was caught heading north on Federal Highway.
The traffic charges will be his 19th and 20th citations in Miami in the past 8 years, as the 25-year-old appears to have a history of reckless driving habits.
As for the first 18 citations Lagutenko received, he was found guilty 11 times and paid $2,387 in fines. His charges ranged from running a red light to driving his vehicle on the wrong side of the road.
Along with traffic violations, authorities stated the suspect has been arrested for drug-related offenses. They believe Lagutenko was “high on narcotics” at the time of Sunday’s accident.
He’s previously been put on probation following convictions for delivering oxycodone, possessing drug paraphernalia and cocaine, and violating a restraining order, the Herald reported.
As if the criminal history of the 25-year-old wasn’t enough for authorities, witnesses stated that Lagutenko was undeterred by the oncoming traffic after crossing the median and striking another car. He then allegedly attempted to keep going and crashed into two other vehicles.
As others got out of their cars to see to the damage, the driver lurched into reverse, undeterred by the torn-off front grill, and attempted to move past the gathering crowd of people and cars trying to block his path — including the man with the sledgehammer.
In one of the videos taken at the scene, a witness trying to stop the silver car can be heard heard shouting, “He’s leaving, he’s leaving,” as others gather around to try and box it in, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Though there was surprise all the way around at the audacity of the hit-and-run suspect, other witnesses were a bit stunned by the reaction of the man with the sledgehammer.
“I’ll call the cops and I’ll try to chase him down, but, uh, pull out a hammer?” witness Anthony Jimenez told WFTV.
The man hammering the suspect’s car has not been arrested or ticketed so far, according to the Herald.
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