MIAMI SPRINGS, Fla. – Dashboard camera video taken by a motorist shows a man swinging a machete at a scooter rider in a violent road rage incident in Miami Springs Friday.
Police said a 61-year-old Miami man was the one wielding the deadly weapon and officers arrested him soon after.
It happened at around 1:30 p.m. along Northwest 42nd Avenue, just before 36th Street, near the Miami International Airport.
Miami Springs police Chief Armando Guzman told Local 10 News that it all started with a verbal argument after someone cut somebody off.
“We’re not really sure who cut who off,” Guzman said.
He said Luis Ruiz Herrera then started swinging a machete around.
“Just when you think you’ve seen it all, right?” Guzman said. “With all the years I’ve been doing this, it’s gotten to a point where nothing really surprises me anymore, but when you see it live like that, it is, it’s just like, it’s surreal, it’s happening.”
The victim was able to dodge the swinging blade, but sustained a minor cut in the process, according to an arrest report.
“It could have cut his head off, it could have at least cut an artery and he would have bled out really fast,” Guzman said.
Police said the dashcam footage showed Ruiz Herrera’s tag number and, using that information, they were able to track him down to his home on Southwest 16th Terrace.
They said officers found the machete in his vehicle.
Police arrested Ruiz Herrera on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was no longer listed in Miami-Dade jail records as of Monday afternoon.