Fitchburg Road Rage Suspect Free On Bail, Says Alleged Victim 'Started It'
FITCHBURG (CBS) -- A Leominster man seen on camera in an alleged road rage incident in Fitchburg was arraigned in Fitchburg District Court Thursday.
Michael Bryce, 53, is charged with operating to endanger, malicious destruction of property, and assault with a dangerous weapon. Bryce is free after posting the $2,500 bail.
However Bryce's lawyer says alleged victim Kyle Dooling has a criminal record and may have started the incident.
Bryce's friend Richard Watson agrees and says he was in the car with Bryce.
"He pulled out in front of us and kept slamming on his brakes, jerking on his brakes, trying make us hit him," Watson said. "Mike was trying to avoid him."
"Then when we passed him, he pulls out his video camera. He didn't show the part of what he did wrong to make Mike mad," Watson said.
Driver Kyle Dooling, who took the video, said he was pulling out of parking lot on Main Street when Bryce pulled up behind him and hit his bumper.
He said Bryce then got out and started banging on Dooling's windshield, swearing, even spitting at his car--all while his four-year-old daughter sat in the backseat.
"He was on the right side; he was on the left side," Dooling told WBZ-TV on Wednesday. "You know, a middle-finger gesture all the way down the street."
"At some point, I finally let him by me so I could get his plate and record him," Dooling said. "He pulled over, I thought 'good chance'...I didn't think he was going to rush my car."
WBZ-TV found Bryce at a neighbor's house and ran inside the house as he yelled, "Get off my property."
