FORT LAUDERDALE —
Those who patrol South Florida roads say bad behavior is on the upswing. Conflicts sometimes lead to gunfire, as they may have in separate incidents on two major highways Tuesday night.
End-of-rush-hour traffic along Interstate 95 was backed up for hours and miles when Hollywood police say Don Shaul Cohen, 18, of Plantation, was shot in the shoulder before he crashed his Chevrolet Tahoe into a concrete median. Cohen told investigators the bullet came from someone driving a dark-colored sedan with blue halogen lights.
Four hours later on Interstate 75 near Miami Lakes, the Florida Highway Patrol alleges Vahid McLaughlin, 37, of Weston, shot Itamar Silva, 40, of Virginia, as his nephew, Raphael Cardozo, drove him to the airport. Road rage drew the three men into a fistfight at the side of the highway, police said, and Silva was wounded by a bullet shot from an H & K .40 caliber handgun. McLaughlin was charged with attempted murder; Silva is hospitalized in stable condition.
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Both incidents are still being investigated.
Though so far just the I-75 incident is attributed to road rage, anyone who commutes in Broward, Palm Beach or Miami-Dade counties can share a scary tale about another motorist who communicated in the international language of offensive and threatening gestures — or worse.
Yves Rho is a Road Ranger who patrols I-595 and I-95 daily to render aid to stranded motorists. But even Samaritans have to be wary, he says, and last spring his company, Sunshine Towing, started requiring Rangers to radio in descriptions of license plates, vehicles and drivers before they provide help.
"You never know who is in that car, or why he is on the [side of the road]," said Rho. The road is "a dangerous place, often filled with anger."
During four years on the job, Rho said he hasn't seen drivers exchange gunfire, but has witnessed incidents just as dangerous and violent that stem from tailgaters in the fast lane, blaring their horns and cutting off other motorists.
Two years ago he watched two vehicles race and cut each other off on I-95 near the Oakland Park exit, conflict that ended when one of the drivers was sideswiped and then abandoned by the rival.
"There's something crazy every day," said Rho, 42. "People are always in a hurry and get so angry."
A 2010 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test survey found that one out of four Florida drivers would fail a written driver's exam.
State records for Cohen, who was involved In Tuesday's shooting incident on I-95, show he has had 10 traffic-related citations in Broward and Miami-Dade that date to before he was legally old enough to drive.
In April 2005, when he was 13, Cohen was ticketed in Broward County for driving without a license.
Other citations over the years include allowing a person to ride outside of a vehicle, failure to observe a stop sign, driving with an illegal muffler, and three speeding tickets. His license was listed as valid on Wednesday, said Hollywood Police Lt. Manny Marino.
Police would not speculate whether Cohen's driving history played any role in what happened Tuesday.
"Short of someone coming forward to say they saw someone cut someone off, or someone doing something, we have nothing right now," said Marino.
"I know that at that time of the day, somebody out there must've seen something. Maybe not the shooting, but maybe what happened before the shooting. We're hoping that someone comes forward," he said.
At their Plantation home Wednesday afternoon, Liza Cohen said her son was sleeping and recovering from his injury, and that the family did not want to talk about the incident.
"It's very confusing. We're very tired," she said. "I spent the whole night terrified."
A 2007 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, the latest available, said aggressive driving nationwide jumped 51 percent since 1990, and that it accounted for 66 percent of all traffic fatalities.
Florida was one of the worst states for such anger, the NHTSA found.
Neither the Florida Department of Law Enforcement nor the Florida Highway Patrol tracks incidents of road rage or gunshots fired on highways. But the ugly phenomenon -- and its close cousin, inconsiderate or oblivious driving that can threaten other motorists – has become the norm, officers say.
"Maybe it's the time of year," Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Wysocky said Wednesday. "There is more traffic, and the holidays are here. It's definitely happening more than it did years ago. Today people are willing to shoot other cars after road rage issues."
In Lake Worth in July, a teen driver tried to hide on a side street after exchanging angry words with a motorcyclist, who tracked the teen down and shot him twice. His wounds landed the young driver in the hospital for two days.
In August, someone in a dark-colored SUV fired shots into the windows of a Greyhound bus in the northbound lanes of I-95 near Hallandale Beach Boulevard. The bus carried 25 passengers bound for Orlando in an incident the Florida Highway Patrol is not yet ready to call road rage.
In 2009, Samuel Ferguson, 47, of North Miami, was killed by someone who shot him from another car while he drove on Florida's Turnpike just south of Griffin Road. There have been no arrests, and Davie police say the incident is still under investigation.
Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Alexander Annunziato says he has seen an increase in aggression since he was on road patrol in the early 2000s, and that on average in Miami-Dade, there are 15 cell calls per shift to *FHP from scared drivers to alert troopers to aggressive motorists.
Annunziato said a driver who waves a gun at another motorist, even if there's no intent to fire, can be prosecuted.
"Fortunately for us and unfortunately for those who can't control their tempers, the State of Florida has taken the position that gun violence ought to be punished severely," Annunziato said. "It's a three-year mandatory term if you pull a gun and threaten somebody and the state attorney charges you. That's aggravated assault with a firearm."
He said he has seen an increase in daytime incidents on the road involving weapons, including three shootings in the last six weeks.
"It may boil down to a lack of common courtesy," said Broward Sheriff Media Relations Director Jim Leljedal. "Some people think a horn is a weapon, when it's supposed to be a warning device. There's too much traffic, roads are crowded and under construction and it leads to frustrated drivers."
Officials say no matter how much another driver may provoke you, take a breath and drive away. And don't gesture first.
"Do you really want your petty dispute — and it's just traffic we're talking about — to result in an innocent third party being killed, or you being hurt?" Annunziato said. "Unfortunately there are people who feel the rules don't apply. We're the referees. And they'll run into one of us. Be late for your appointment, and know they'll get theirs. Eventually."
Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report. Linda Trischitta can be reached at ltrischitta@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4233.
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