Man Pushes Woman In La Grange Road Rage Incident: Cops

LA GRANGE, IL – A Hinsdale man blamed a "lapse in judgment" for pushing a woman in a road rage incident last month, La Grange police said.

The 54-year-old, who lives in the 1200 block of Indian Trail Road, was charged with battery, police said.

The victim was listed as an 18-year-old woman.

Patch obtained the police report through a public records request.

The incident occurred about 6:30 p.m. May 15.

In an interview with police, the man said the woman rear-ended him as they were heading north on Gilbert Avenue, police said. He accused her of tailgating him.

They both got out of their cars. As the woman screamed at the man, the man admitted he pushed her, police said.

The man told police that he let his "hot head" get the best of him. He said that if he had to be charged, he accepted that, according to the report.

The woman told police that the man waited for three minutes at the stop sign at Gilbert and Burlington avenues. She said she honked her horn and tried to go around the man, but then he proceeded.

By the woman's account, the man brake-checked her at the nearby railroad tracks, causing her to crash into him, police said.

The woman told police she asked the man if he was OK, but then he pushed her against her car and tried to slam the door on her. People exited their homes and witnessed the incident, police said.

The man told police he was only stopped for a couple of seconds.

During booking, the Hinsdale man was heard saying, "Oh my God, I'm going to kill this girl, but I did not brandish a weapon," according to the report.

Later, the man told an officer that he did not want to hurt anybody, attributing the incident to a "lapse in judgment," police said.

The man was advised to call the police if he begins to feel such a lapse again.

Asked about putting his hands on the woman, the man told police that he had been involved in another crash where he was injured, according to the report.

An officer told the man that being in an accident did not give him the right to push someone.

The man did not identify the previous crash.

In March 2023, he was charged with DUI after a crash involving injuries in La Grange, according to a police report at the time.

He was also charged with illegally transporting alcohol, driving with expired plates or registration, failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident and driving with a suspended license.