Knife-Wielding Man Head-Butts Driver In Niles Road Rage Incident

NILES, IL — A Chicago man faces criminal charges after head-butting another driver and attacking his car with a knife in an instance of road rage caught on video Wednesday, police said.

Peter Dow, 53, of the 3700 block of North Saint Louis Avenue, Chicago, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and battery following an argument in the 6600 block of Milwaukee Avenue in Niles, police said.

The incident began around 11 a.m with the drivers of a 2000 Jeep SUV and a 1998 Toyota Camry each heading west on Touhy Avenue, according to police.

The driver of the Jeep, Dow, told officers the other driver, a 35-year-old Chicago man, had repeatedly cut him off beginning about 2 miles away at Touhy and Central avenues in Skokie, according to Niles Police Cmdr. Robert Tornabene.

Dow also told police the other man had earlier gotten out of his car and threatened him, throwing a cup of coffee at him while both motorists were stopped for a passing train at Lehigh Avenue, Tornabene said.

A cellphone video recorded by a witness in a vehicle forced to stop by the confrontation was posted to social media.

The video shows a man identified by police as Dow dangerously maneuver the Jeep in front of the Camry to force it to stop before exiting with a knife in his hand.

After initially stepping out of his car, the other driver retreats as the leather jacket-clad driver of the Jeep runs at him while brandishing a knife, twice slamming it against the Camry's window, according to the video.

As the argument continues, the man identified by police as Dow, head-butts the other motorist before asking "what the [expletive] is wrong" with the younger driver.

Dow is due to appear in court Jan. 31 in Skokie to face two misdemeanor charges, Tornabene said in a statement. Cook County court records indicate Dow was previously sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of a 1986 armed robbery involving a category 2 weapon.