Road Rage Incident After Oakland Elementary School Drop-Off Caught On Video
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – A Bay Area mother who claims she was attacked following morning drop-off at her daughter's Oakland elementary school last week is asking for justice after a road-rage confrontation spiraled out of control.
Laurel Elementary School parent Cynthia Cardenas said the incident happened on Thursday, Nov. 14th and that the suspect is getting off easy.
The confrontation has parents and community members alarmed and wondering why it happened in the first place and who should be held accountable.
The video was taken right after school drop off that morning.
Cardenas told KPIX 5 she had just dropped off daughter at Laurel Creek Elementary School. Her two year old was still in the backseat.
"My biggest fear is that he was going to punch me while my daughter was in the back seat," Cardenas said. "It was a road rage incident gone bad."
According to Cardenas, the incident started with a few honks and hand gestures back and forth at a stop sign. She said then the man got out of his car and approached her open passenger window, banging on it.
'I stepped out of the car and said, 'hey what is your problem? I have my two-year-old in my car!' And he just started slapping me and that's when I maced him," said Cardenas.
This video was posted on the community's Next Door app and a flood of concerns and opinions started pouring in.
"I feel for my kids. My oldest wasn't with me, but she knows about it. It happened at her school. Her whole school witnessed it," Cardenas said through tears. "It sucks. It's something I'm going to have to deal with it for some time."
When asked what might incite this kind of drop-off road rage confrontation, parent advocate Clarissa Doutherd replied, "It can be a very chaotic scene. So you have small roads "
Doutherd said she and her son saw the incident and called what happened unacceptable. She feels the incident needs to be addressed by city leaders.
"Our community has a responsibility and moral imperative to ensure that women and children are safe. And that video displayed lack of safety and concern for women like Cynthia and mothers like myself."
When asked what she wanted to see happen now, Cardenas said, "I want to him to be [held] accountable for attacking me. It's hard to believe you can go around attacking people and you don't get any consequences "
Police did arrive at the scene and take an incident report, but no charges have been filed. Police would not comment on the investigation.
KPIX 5 contacted the school district. Officials said they are aware this happened a few blocks away from the school. They hope parents and the community are mindful that during school drop off and pick up times it can be very busy and they hope there will be more patience and understanding in the future.