Driver arrested after throwing glass bottle at woman in Hallandale Beach road rage attack, police say
A Hallendale Beach man was arrested Wednesday afternoon after police said he tailgated a woman into Gulfstream Park's parking lot and hurled a glass bottle through her open window, striking her in the face.
Esteban Enrique Hernandez, 38, was charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability and shooting or throwing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle. Both of those charges are considered second-degree felonies.
According to Hernandez's arrest report, a patrol officer with the Hallandale Beach Police Department was dispatched at around 4:29 p.m. Wednesday to the 1600 block of East Hallandale Beach Boulevard regarding an aggravated battery report.
The victim told investigators that she was driving north along the 300 block of South Federal Highway when a black 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer began tailgating her. The trailing driver honked repeatedly and followed so closely that he nearly struck her rear bumper.
Both drivers rolled down their windows. When the woman yelled at the driver to stop following her, the man shouted an expletive and threw a glass bottle into her car.
The bottle struck the woman in the face, chipping a front tooth and leaving a laceration on the right side of her forehead requiring stitches, according to the report.
The driver sped away from the parking lot, but the injured woman followed his vehicle to 1610 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd. while contacting law enforcement.
Officers located Hernandez shortly after in the 1100 block of Northeast First Court and detained him. Upon being stopped, the report said Hernandez spontaneously told officers that he had just been involved in an altercation and had thrown a bottle.
Police transported the victim to the scene of the stop, where she positively identified Hernandez during an in-person show-up as the person who threw the bottle.
Hernandez was booked into the Broward County Main Jail, where his total bond was set at $15,000. The judge ordered him not to have any contact with the victim or to own any firearms, weapons, and/or ammunition.