An astonishing video has surfaced showing a chaotic scene on a Florida highway, where a driver involved in a crash launched a brutal assault on a well-meaning passerby who stopped to assist.
“This person attempted to end my life,” recounted Hans Hamilton, who endured both a brain hemorrhage and fractured ribs during the violent encounter. “I hope no one else has to endure what I experienced.”
Hamilton was traveling north on the 429 Expressway, near Walt Disney World, when he encountered a white car that had collided with a guard rail in the median. Footage obtained by News 6 captured the driver staggering out of the Lexus before collapsing onto the grass.
Initially, the driver seemed unresponsive as Hamilton pulled over to offer aid. Suddenly, the man sprang to life, leaping onto the hood of Hamilton’s Tesla and smashing the windshield, as captured by intense dash cam footage.
Further video evidence shows the man, later identified by authorities as 44-year-old Daniel Coman, relentlessly pummeling Hamilton on the pavement, targeting his head and body.
After enduring over half a minute of relentless assault, Hamilton was able to break free, striking Coman in the throat to fend him off, he recounted to News 6. The video concludes with Hamilton walking away while Coman remains on the ground.
A deputy from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office soon arrived at the scene and Coman immediately tried to fight him, according to an arrest report.
Coman approached in an “aggressive fighting manner” and “began swinging his left hand as if he was going to strike” the law enforcement officer, according to the affidavit.
Hamilton helped the officer detain Coman, who was later charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, assault on a law enforcement officer, battery and criminal mischief.
Police later learned that Coman was involved in a separate hit-and-run crash about two miles south. He is also the suspect in a “criminal mischief incident” that occurred earlier that morning, the affidavit states, without disclosing additional details.
Hamilton, meanwhile, was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for a brain bleed, a concussion, multiple contusions and four broken ribs, according to a GoFundMe page he launched to help cover medical expenses and car repairs.
He said he only ever wanted to help the stranger and “do the right thing.”
“The physical pain and trauma from that day have been overwhelming, and the emotional toll has been just as heavy,” he wrote.
Coman was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, but missed his date because he was hospitalized for an undisclosed reason. He remained locked up at the Orange County Jail Thursday night.
