KEY LARGO, Fla. – A Tampa man is facing a felony charge in the Florida Keys after deputies said he went into a fit of road rage Thursday afternoon during a backup on U.S. 1 caused by a brush fire in southern Miami-Dade County that’s led to frequent delays and closures.
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According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to Zaika, an Indian restaurant at 105045 Overseas Highway in Key Largo, after receiving a report that a man “had exited his vehicle and was hitting other vehicles stuck in traffic.”
Deputies said when they arrived, a woman pointed to a black SUV and its driver, identified soon after as Mark Nalywajko.
An MCSO arrest report states that Nalywajko, 51, told deputies that “multiple vehicles were driving (past) him on the shoulder and he exited the car to have them stop and wait as he was in traffic,” denying that he was hitting other vehicles.
But the report states that a woman — and a witness — presented a different story.
The woman told investigators that her vehicle had overheated after being stuck in traffic, so she pulled to the shoulder to cool it down. According to the report, she said when she did this, Nalywajko “jumped out of the passenger side of his vehicle and blocked her car while cursing at her” and said he pushed another car’s mirror as it drove by; she took out her phone and began recording the incident.
Deputies said the woman got back on the road and her car overheated again, so she pulled into the Indian restaurant parking lot to let it cool down. They said Nalywajko followed her and tried pulling on the door handles to get inside of her vehicle.
According to the report, the woman had her windows down and was punched in the arm as Nalywajko swung at her and her mirror.
Another driver reported seeing Nalywajko “reaching into her vehicle” and punching her, deputies said.
Deputies arrested Nalywajko on a charge of burglary with assault or battery. '
As of Friday, MCSO records show he was being held without bond at the agency’s Plantation Key jail facility and is scheduled to be arraigned in Monroe County court on April 15.
Local 10 News reporter Janine Stanwood contributed to this story.