Lynn road rage attack escalates into assault, property destruction charges

LYNN – A road rage incident turned ugly Tuesday with a bottle being thrown and a baseball bat slammed against someone’s car at a Western Avenue gas station, police said.Police responded to the station at the corner of Whiting Street at about 6:20 p.m. to find someone had repeatedly struck another person’s car with a baseball bat, according to police.The apparent victim, a 26-year-old man, told police his car was parked in front of a gas pump when a Ford Escort pulled behind him and kept honking the horn. The driver of the Ford then pulled away and threw a bottle at the victim’s car before driving away, police said.A short time later, the suspect, Jose Arriaga-Lopez of 72 Elm St., Lynn, allegedly returned with another person – and a baseball bat.Arriaga-Lopez allegedly struck the car with the bat several times while his passenger tried to physically assault the victim.The suspects fled the area before police arrived, but Arriaga-Lopez was tracked down a short time later. He will be summonsed for assault with a dangerous weapon and malicious destruction of property.