A Bellefontaine man is facing an assault charge after a road rage confrontation at a railroad crossing Saturday afternoon, according to a report from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were dispatched around 12:39 p.m. to a residence on Township Road 56 to investigate an assault that had occurred earlier near the railroad crossing on Stockyard Road.
According to the report, the victim was stopped by a passing train while driving to Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken when another driver, identified as 51-year-old Todd Hall of Bellefontaine, exited his Jeep Wrangler and approached the vehicle.
The victim told deputies Hall appeared angry and began yelling about the noise coming from the car.
Hall allegedly leaned into the open driver’s window and touched the victim’s shoulder, making the driver uncomfortable.
The victim said Hall then opened the driver’s door, prompting the driver to push Hall away.
Investigators said Hall then punched the victim in the face, causing a cut above the left eyebrow and breaking the victim’s glasses.
Deputies photographed the injury and the damaged eyeglasses as part of the investigation.
Hall gave deputies a different account of the incident.
He said he believed the other driver was repeatedly mouthing an obscenity toward him through the side mirror while they waited for the train.
Hall told deputies he approached the vehicle intending to have a conversation, but claimed the other driver struck him first.
Hall said he then responded by punching the driver before the vehicle left the scene.
A passenger in Hall’s vehicle told deputies she saw the other driver strike Hall first and grab him by the shirt.
She also said she saw Hall swing toward the driver but could not tell whether the punch made contact.
Following the investigation, deputies issued Hall a summons at his residence.
Hall has been charged with one count of assault under Ohio Revised Code 2903.13.
The case has been forwarded to Bellefontaine Municipal Court, and the Logan County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is complete.
