Deaf man dies after ‘road rage’ incident, police say

Paul Peterman, 37, died after a “road rage” incident Thursday morning, Coral Springs police said.

According to police, Peterman and another driver, Joshua Tullis, 37, had a dispute that began miles away in Margate. It ended at an intersection near the 8200 block of Atlantic Boulevard and Riverside Drive in Coral Springs with Peterman unresponsive in the roadway.

At some point, Peterman got out of his vehicle, but it’s unclear what happened next. Police said Friday they’re still interviewing witnesses and collecting information.

“It’s an open investigation, so we wouldn’t want to release anything that would compromise the investigation,” said Carla Kmiotek, a Coral Springs police sergeant.

Peterman was found with visible head trauma and was rushed to the hospital. He died later from his injuries. There were no gunshot wounds, police said.

“He did have visible head trauma, but I can’t make a determination until we receive a medical examiner’s report,” Kmiotek said.

Tullis, the other driver, left the scene. However, officials said he contacted them later and is fully cooperating with the investigation.

Policed said Peterman was deaf, but it remains unclear if that had anything to do with the incident.

Kmiotek urged people not to confront another driver if they’re involved in a road rage incident.

“We want them to drive to a safe location and call the police,” she said.

Anyone with information this this incident should call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS or Detective Frank Randazzo at 954-346-1262.

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 9:12 PM with the headline "Deaf man dies after ‘road rage’ incident, police say."