RUSKIN, Fla. – A Florida road rage incident was captured on video (see below), showing a baseball bat and a flare gun being used in the road battle, which led to the arrest of one of the drivers.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office posted on X that road rage incident happened around 10 a.m. Thursday on South U.S. Highway 41 at West College Avenue in Ruskin.
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Deputies said two drivers were involved in the fight when both vehicles stopped at a red light.
The driver of a white van, identified by sheriff’s officials as Leonard Cako, 47, approached the other vehicle with an aluminum baseball bat, according to deputies.
Cako reached into the car and began to strike and grab the other driver, who “defended himself by firing a flare gun,” deputies said.
The flare hit Cako, who then stuck the car with the bat, sheriff’s officials said.
The victim then drove away, the video shows.
🚨𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭🚨
— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) March 7, 2025
On March 6, 2025, at approximately 10 a.m., two vehicles were involved in a road rage incident. When both vehicles stopped at the red light of South US Highway 41 and West College Avenue in Ruskin, the driver of the white van, Leonard Cako, 47,… pic.twitter.com/H2GbEyiLt4
The sheriff’s office said Cako was identified as the primary aggressor and was arrested on charges of burglary of conveyance with assault or battery, aggravated assault of a victim over 65 and criminal mischief over $1,000.
“This is another example of how quickly road rage can escalate. There’s no excuse for a driver to get out of their car and assault and threaten another driver,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “I’m glad we were able to make sure this suspect will suffer the consequences of his actions.”
Ruskin is about 20 miles south of Tampa.