Road Rager's Rant In Howell Wasn't His First, 2nd Woman Says

HOWELL, NJ — A man's road rage rant that was caught on video by a Brick Township woman Wednesday apparently wasn't his first.

Careyanne Womack of Brick said she had a similar experience with the same man in the same area in 2016.

"I was reading the article and saw where she talked about a red Volkswagen, and I said, 'Oh my God,' " Womack said Thursday afternoon.

She then checked a photo she had taken in late February 2016.

"It was the same license plate number," she said.

Womack said she worked in Freehold at the time and was driving home when her interaction with the man happened — in nearly the same location as Tori Barden's Wednesday interaction. Womack was on Route 524/Lakewood-Farmingdale Road heading south toward Herbertsville Road and had just crossed over Route 195.

"All of a sudden this guy comes flying off 195 and cuts me off," Womack said.

In the early evening, traffic coming off 195 can jam up a bit when the light at Herbertsville Road is red. Womack said she had let a couple of cars that were coming off 195, where there is a yield sign, merge onto Route 524.

"He just cut me off, so I honked and flipped him off," she said. "The next thing I know, he slams on his brakes and gets out of his car."

She grabbed her phone and snapped a photo because she wasn't sure what was going to happen. The next thing she knew, "he starts banging on the window, yelling, 'Get out of the car! You want to go now?!' "

Womack said she didn't dare open the window or get out, in part because of his angry behavior and in part because she had her then-8-year-old daughter in the car.

"I didn't know what he might do."

Then his rant ended and he "drove off like nothing happened," she said. Womack called 911 and reported the incident, but she didn't file charges because he had not touched her car.

"If there had been any contact between the cars, I would have pressed charges," she said, referring to the circumstances of Barden's encounter.

"I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt" at the time of the incident, Womack said. "Maybe he was just having a horrible day. Maybe he got bad news. But seeing this? It's totally insane."

Womack said she was sharing her encounter to show support for what happened to Barden.

"My incident is over and done with and there's nothing that can be done," she said. "But the fact that he thinks he can just go around and do this is a problem."

Photo provided by Careyanne Womack shows the car; its license plate number has been blotted out by Patch.