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Mass Pike road ragers arraigned, driver drove with man clinging to car hood – Metro US

Mass Pike road ragers arraigned, driver drove with man clinging to car hood

Massachusetts drivers, commonly referred to as “Massholes,” are the butt of many road jokes, but an outrageous road rage incident on the Mass Pike on Friday evening may have surpassed the stereotype, as an argument escalated into a harrowing hold-on-for-dear-life instance which ultimately ended at gunpoint.

The situation started when the pair got into a minor sideswipe crash and started arguing on I-90 West in Weston, according to State Police.

Richard Kamrowski, 65, of Framingham pulled over in the left lane, got out of his car, and attempted to exchange paperwork with Mark Fitzgerald, 37-year-old of Ashland, still inside his car. 

The encounter “became adversarial and at some point, Kamrowski retrieved a water bottle from the interior of Fitzgerald’s vehicle before taking a position in front of that vehicle,” according to the police report.

At this point, Fitzgerald stepped on the gas and Kamrowski jumped onto the hood of Fitzgerald’s white SUV. Police said Fitzgerald drove up to 70 mph with Kamrowski clinging to the hood, often stopping abruptly and accelerating again when he couldn’t shake Kamrowski off. At some point while holding on to the hood, “Kamrowski broke the SUV’s windshield by hitting it with the water bottle he had taken earlier in the encounter.”

This continued for about two or three miles until other drivers intervened by blocking Fitzgerald’s way, and eventually boxed him in. The incident was captured on cellphone video.

Once drivers finally got Fitzgerald to stop, an armed driver pulled out a gun to keep Fitzgerald from taking off until police arrived.

Neither men were injured, and the armed motorist had a license to carry his firearm.

Fitzgerald was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon on a person over age 60, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Kamrowski was charged with disorderly conduct malicious and damage to a motor vehicle.

Fitzgerald was released on $500 cash bail, ordered to stay away from Kamrowski, and not to drive without a license, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office. Kamrowski was also ordered to have no contact with Fitzgerald.

Both men pleaded not guilty to their respective charges in a Waltham District Court on Monday and expected back in court on March 13.