A driver stopped in the middle of a road — and then he attacked, Florida sheriff says

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A driver stopped in the middle of a road — and then he attacked, Florida sheriff says

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A driver sitting in the middle of a road rammed into cars and then got out of his SUV and started attacking other vehicles with a tire iron, according to a Florida sheriff’s office.

The driver then confronted deputies with a crowbar before trying to run away, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office reported. They arrested the man, Raymond Hofmann, in the attacks.

It started when deputies received reports of a Chevrolet Tahoe parked at an intersection in Cocoa. The SUV then started ramming into vehicles that tried to pass it, according to a post on the sheriff’s office Facebook page.

The incident escalated when Hofmann got out of the SUV holding a tire iron and began striking vehicles that passed by him. He broke the driver’s side window of a passing truck, reports said. Hofmann also had a nail gun and crowbar that he used to threaten people, according to the sheriff’s statement.

When deputies got there, Hofmann was holding the crowbar and began approaching them, the report said.

Deputies commanded him to drop it, but Hofmann responded, “You will have to kill me,” before throwing the crowbar and running away, according to the release.

When deputies chased after him, Hofmann threw a chair and barbecue grill at them. The brief foot chase ended with Hofmann’s arrest.

Hofmann faces charges that include resisting and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 12:19 PM.

Natalie La Roche Pietri

Miami Herald

Natalie is an intern reporter at the Miami Herald on the Real Time desk. She has reported from Washington, D.C., as an NBCU Academy Diversity, Equity and Inclusion fellow on national issues that affect the South Florida community. She’s a senior at Florida International University double majoring in digital communications and English.