A driver accused of running over a motorcyclist in Lutz in a fit of road rage faces upgraded charges of attempted murder.
Robert Vance, 31, remained in jail Tuesday night, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. His bond is set at $115,000.
The crash occurred about 5:35 p.m. Monday near County Line Road and Land O’Lakes Boulevard in Pasco County.
Cellphone video shows what appears to be a driver deliberately plow down two people on a motorcycle. Vance was initially charged with aggravated battery.
One of the motorcyclists, Joseph Calderazzo, said Vance was driving erratically moments before the crash.
Calderazzo said Vance was driving angrily and had cut off another motorcyclist in their group, coming within a foot of them.
They all traveled in the southbound lanes of County Line Road and all stopped at a red light.
"He (Vance) had the window down, he was yelling at us, we were yelling at him and all of the sudden, he put the car in reverse about two feet, turned the wheel and just ran right over us," Calderazzo said. "As soon as I saw those wheels turn towards me, I knew this was going south very very quickly.”
Calderazzo said Vance sped off, leaving him and his passenger in the road.
Panicked drivers soon started calling 911.
"Somebody just got ran over by a bike," one caller shouted to emergency operators. "It was a crazy driver!"
Calderazzo now has a broken leg.
“I think we’re just lucky to only have some broken bones and scrapes and bruises," he said.
Vance has a criminal past that included burglary, battery and drug possession charges.
Calderazzo now hopes the justice system will keep Vance off the road.
“What he’s going to do in the future is what I care about. I don’t want him to be able to do this to somebody else," he said.
