Road Rage Incident Leaves Owner Of Auburn Dog Rescue Fighting For His Life
ACAMPO (CBS13) — The owner of an Auburn dog rescue is fighting for his life after he was attacked, carjacked and run over with his own car in a road rage incident.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office is now looking for the suspected driver. The incident happened off of Peltier Road, near Highway 99 earlier this month.
"I miss being helpful, I miss being useful," said Justin Montgomery.
He spoke with CBS13 from his bedside at a Modesto rehab center. Montgomery says he's spent weeks isolated while he recovers from internal trauma.
"They cut me from sternum to groin," he said.
Justin was picking up a Christmas gift for his step-son outside Turlock. He was heading northbound on Highway 99 when he says a man driving this black sedan started swerving between cars, clipping his car before taking off.
He eventually caught up to him, and both drivers pulled off on the Peltier Road exit.
"I got off and I got out of my car and he just rushed towards me and he just started swinging," Justin said.
Justin says he managed to fight off the driver until a woman jumped out of the other car and they both started attacking him.
"Both of them just started pummeling me as hard as they could," he said.
He says he was beaten but still standing. But then, the driver jumped into Justin's truck.
"He just gunned it and he ran over basically the whole center of my body and then took off," Justin said.
The suspect jumped back into his car and took off.
"He dropped my keys, and dropped my phone in front of me and kind of chuckled and said, 'you'll be fine,'" he said.
Justin started screaming for help and managed to call 911.
"I kept asking him if I was dying. He said, 'you're not going to die, Justin, we're not going to lose you,'" he said.
The San Joaquin Sheriff's Office says it's working with the Department of Justice to find the suspect in this attack. Investigators plan to swab DNA from Justin's truck to see if they can get a fingerprint match.
For Justin, with a long road to recovery, he hopes his attacker feels something.
"I don't want to believe that all humans are just garbage," he said.
That possible DNA will be sent to the DOJ. Witnesses managed to get a few photos of the suspect and the car, but they are too blurry to make out a license plate.
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