Driver yelled racial slur at another driver before stabbing him, Michigan officials say

A Michigan driver harassed and attacked another driver in a racially charged road rage incident, officials said.

The incident took place on May 14 on a road in Southfield, a suburb of Detroit, according to a news release from the Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

A 25-year-old white man is accused of shouting a racial slur at a fellow driver, a 62-year-old Black man, before the situation escalated, Michigan officials said.

The younger driver then stabbed the man and slashed holes in his tires, officials said. It’s not clear what injuries the man suffered.

An attorney for the accused man could not immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News.

The man was charged with felonious assault and ethnic intimidation — both felonies — and malicious destruction of property, officials said. Together the charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

“Maliciously attacking another driver while yelling racial slurs is unacceptable and my office intends to hold this defendant, and anyone else who commits hate crimes, accountable,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

This story was originally published May 18, 2023 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Driver yelled racial slur at another driver before stabbing him, Michigan officials say."