Bel Air Man Charged with Attempted Murder in Road Rage Incident: Sheriff

A Bel Air man is being held on $500,000 bail at the Harford County Detention Center in connection with a road rage incident that happened in Joppa on Tuesday, officials said.

Matthew Bredlow, 27, of the 200 block of Bucket Post Court, is accused of hitting another man with his Mercury Montego in a parking lot off US Route 40 at Joppa Farm Road, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

Preliminary investigation indicates the two did not know one another, sheriff’s office spokesman Kyle Andersen said.

Before 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Bredlow and the victim—a 34-year-old man driving a Nissan Maxima—got into an “aggressive driving incident” while headed east on Route 40, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.

The victim pulled off into a parking lot ”to avoid further confrontation,” the statement said.

When the victim got out of his vehicle, Bredlow allegedly drove toward him, according to the sheriff’s office.

Although the victim tried to use his own vehicle as a shield, Bredlow hit him and launched the man more than 50 feet, according to the statement.

Paramedics from the Abingdon Fire Company took the victim to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in serious but stable condition, according to Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, which also responded to the incident.

The victim was treated for minor injuries, according to the sheriff’s office. His vehicle was also damaged, the statement said.

Bredlow left the scene, and authorities later identified him as the suspect and took him into custody, the sheriff’s office reported. He was arrested at his home in Bel Air without incident, according to Andersen.

Bredlow was charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and malicious destruction of property greater than $1,000, according to online court records.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18 in Harford County District Court.

Booking photo of Matthew Bredlow of Bel Air. Photo Credit: Harford County Sheriff’s Office.