Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities have detained 43-year-old David Conrad Waddell from Cape Coral after he allegedly attempted to run over three individuals with his vehicle following a bout of road rage.

Officers from the Gainesville Police Department were dispatched at approximately 5:48 p.m. on March 13 to the 1600 block of SW 16th Avenue. According to statements from those involved and witnesses, a road rage incident had escalated into a collision. Although accounts of the sequence of events varied, it was reported that Waddell’s vehicle struck one of the victims, who retaliated by breaking a window on Waddell’s car with a crowbar. Waddell is accused of subsequently trying to hit the trio with his car.

One individual recounted that after confronting Waddell about the crash, Waddell initially drove off only to return and attempt to run down all three victims. During this time, the victim was struck by Waddell’s car, landed on the hood, and damaged the windshield in an effort to dismount. In retaliation, he armed himself with a crowbar and shattered the rear driver-side window of Waddell’s vehicle as it passed by again. An officer observed a minor cut on the victim’s hand and discovered a bloody handprint on Waddell’s car.

The second individual corroborated the story, describing how Waddell aggressively circled the victims with his vehicle, aiming to hit them. This person confirmed that the first victim was struck during one such maneuver, ending up on the hood before falling off. When Waddell circled back and stopped, the first victim used a crowbar to break the car window.

The third individual provided a similar testimony, aligning with the others’ accounts.

Post Miranda, Waddell reportedly said that after the crash, all the cars pulled into a turn lane, and he stayed in his car while the first victim approached, slammed his hands on Waddell’s car, yelled, and tried to open the door. Waddell said he pushed the first victim back with the door several times before the first victim grabbed a crowbar and smashed one of his windows, which prompted him to drive away. He said that when the victims approached his wife, who was in a separate car, he returned, and the first victim jumped on his hood and punched the windshield, cracking it. He said he only circled back twice.

Waddell’s wife reportedly said she and a passenger watched the altercation between Waddell and the victims to make sure her husband was okay, but she did not recall seeing a crowbar, and she did not say anything about a crowbar being used. She also said she didn’t recall the victims approaching her during the incident.

The passenger in Waddell’s wife’s car reportedly gave a similar account and said she saw the first victim try to open Waddell’s car door.

Other witnesses reportedly said they saw Waddell driving erratically, making U-turns in traffic and almost causing several accidents. They all reportedly said it looked like Waddell was trying to hit the victims with his vehicle and the victims had to run away to avoid being hit. One witness said the victims never approached Waddell’s wife; instead, they ran away from her car while avoiding being hit by Waddell. Several of the witnesses reportedly said that the first victim intentionally jumped on Waddell’s car while it was completely stopped.

The officer reported that after weighing all of the accounts and “weighing the independent witnesses’ accounts heavily,” he believed that Waddell intentionally drove his car in a reckless and threatening manner, causing the victims to fear for their safety.

Waddell has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault. His full criminal history is currently unavailable, but he served one prison sentence for manslaughter out of Lee County and was released in 2003; Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $225,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.