Road-Rage Suspect Accused Of Assaulting Other Driver

PETALUMA, CA – A 27-year-old Glen Ellen man was arrested on assault charges Tuesday afternoon in Petaluma after allegedly beating another motorist with a flashlight and then kicking the victim when he fell to the ground -- an attack stopped by witnesses, officials said.

Deputies responded at 3:50 p.m. to Adobe and Stage Gulch roads to a report of road-rage where bystanders broke up a fight and took away the car keys from the suspect, identified as Robert Lind, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said.

A 911 caller told authorities the fight stemmed from a road-rage incident on Highway 37 near Lakeville Highway, deputies said.

Near the intersection of Adobe and Stage Gulch, Lind allegedly went and pulled the 62-year-old Sonoma resident from his vehicle and, using a metal flashlight, hit the victim’s head and face several times, officials said.

"After the victim fell to the ground, Lind reportedly kicked him," deputies said. "At that point, several bystanders intervened and stopped the attack."

The victim was treated at the scene by paramedics for blunt-force trauma and injuries to his head and face, as well as cuts and scratches to his arms and legs, and later was released, according to officials.

Lind was arrested for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon from both the "flashlight blows and the kicking" and was booked into the Main Adult Detention Facility, authorities said.

Anyone with information on the case, who has not yet spoken to deputies, is asked to call the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office at 707-565-2650.

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--Image via Renee Schiavone