A Massachusetts man seen in a now-viral video speeding down an interstate as another man clung to the hood of his car following a road rage incident has been ordered to steer clear of him.
Mark Fitzgerald was filmed Friday driving on Interstate 90, about 20 miles west of Boston, with Richard Kamrowski gripping the hood of the car. He traveled approximately three miles before he was stopped.
Both men appeared in Waltham District Court on Monday. Fitzgerald, 37, pleaded not guilty to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, negligent operation and leaving the scene of a crash causing property damage.
He was released on a $500 cash bail and ordered to have no contact with Kamrowski. He is due back in court on March 13, a court clerk said.
Kamrowski, 65, also pleaded not guilty to a disorderly conduct charge and was released on his own recognizance.
Kamrowski said the altercation started when Fitzgerald allegedly drifted into his lane and hit his side mirror, according to the criminal complaint. Kamrowski told police that he wasn't sure if the mirror was broken, and wanted to exchange information with Fitzgerald, but he refused to pull over.
He told police that traffic was moving slow on the interstate so he was able to catch up with Fitzgerald. Kamrowski said he got out of his car and walked up to Fitzgerald's SUV and once again tried to exchange information. When Fitzgerald refused, Kamrowski reached into the car and grabbed a metal water bottle that was on the front passenger seat, according to the complaint.
Kamrowski then walked in front of the car. When Fitzgerald went to drive away, Kamrowski said he jumped on the hood to avoid getting hit. He said he held onto the hood while Fitzgerald was driving because he thought he would die if he let go.
Fitzgerald, however, gave authorities a slightly different version of events and blamed the minor accident on Kamrowski.
Fitzgerald said Kamrowski hit his SUV while switching lanes but Fitzgerald didn't want to call police or exchange information so he kept driving. As he was sitting in traffic, Fitzgerald said Kamrowski walked up to his car and the two "exchanged some words," according to the complaint.
Fitzgerald said he tried to drive away and Kamrowski jumped on the hood and used the water bottle to smash the windshield. Fitzgerald told police that he stopped his car several times and told Kamrowski to get off, but he refused to budge so he kept driving. Fitzgerald said he was in fear of his safety during the ordeal, the complaint states.
Police said Fitzgerald’s speed reached as high as 70 mph during the incident. No one was injured.
"I thought he was going to run over me," Kamrowski told the NBC affiliate Friday. "I don't think he stopped, he kept going fast, slow, fast, slow, to get me to slide off.”
Other drivers on the road forced Fitzgerald to stop, with one car pulling in front of Fitzgerald’s SUV so he couldn’t leave.
"I was assaulted. That's it," Kamrowski told NBC Boston. "I just kept telling him, 'Stop the car, stop the car,' and he wouldn't stop."