A Soldotna man is facing charges after allegedly smashing the window of a fellow driver’s car in a road rage incident.
Shawn A. Michlitsch, 20, was driving a Pontiac Firebird on Kalifornsky Beach Road on Thursday morning, when the car ahead of him — a Nissan Sentra — made a left turn, according to an Alaska State Trooper affidavit.
The driver of the Nissan told troopers that the Pontiac had been tailgating his car. When the Nissan turned, the Pontiac continued to follow him onto Business Park Frontage Road. The man driving the Pontiac then cut off the Nissan and got out of his car, the man told troopers.
The Nissan’s driver reported that Michlitsch began yelling and punching his windows until the back window shattered. Michlitsch then got back into the Pontiac and took off.
Troopers later found the Pontiac in a ditch along Echo Lake Road. Michlitsch, who was not in the car, came out of the woods to talk to troopers when they arrived on the scene. Drugs and alcohol did not appear to be a factor, troopers said.
Michlitsch was charged with one count of criminal mischief in the third degree, a class C felony; two counts of fourth-degree assault, a class A misdemeanor; reckless driving, an unclassified misdemeanor; and leaving the scene of an accident, an unclassified misdemeanor.
