Inset: D’Angelo Groce (Cook County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The intersection where a road rage incident occurred in Oak Lawn, Ill. (Google Maps).
An Illinois resident has been detained following a violent road rage episode that left a 70-year-old man with dementia severely injured and traumatized, as reported by local law enforcement.
D’Angelo Groce, aged 41, faces charges involving two counts of aggravated battery, according to information from the Oak Lawn Police Department.
This troubling event unfolded in late November at an intersection near a gas station in Oak Lawn, a suburb situated outside of Chicago.
On that particular day, a couple, identified only as Joseph and Deborah for privacy reasons, was attempting to navigate into a right-turn lane when a truck suddenly emerged from the gas station and cut them off, according to reports from CBS News and Chicago’s WBBM radio station.
In response, Deborah, who was in the car with her husband, confronted the driver of the other vehicle, who was identified as Groce.
The woman then sprung into action; addressing the driver of the other car – who is alleged to have been Groce.
“When I tried to get over, he sped up and plowed into me,” Deborah told the local outlet. “I got out of the car and said, ‘What the hell, dude?’ He didn’t say a word. He came up to me and pushed me. I went backwards, and when I went backwards, I landed on my elbows. My glasses went flying backwards. I lost my phone on Cicero Avenue.”
But that incident allegedly did not end things.
Joseph, who is 73 years old and was diagnosed with dementia three years ago, got up to try to help his wife.
At that point, Groce allegedly punched the man and knocked him to the ground.
Deborah recalled a harrowing soundtrack accompanying the alleged violence. She said she heard Groce telling her husband: “Get up again, mf–er, and I’m going to finish you,” as Joseph struggled to get up.
“I was so upset,” the wife continued. “I was crying. I was saying, ‘Stop it. Stop hitting him!’”
Witnesses at the scene called police and Groce was arrested.
Ultimately, Joseph suffered a broken nose, broken jaw, two broken teeth, and scrapes on both hands, the couple said.
“I thought he was going to kill him,” Deborah told CBS News.
The man’s wife went on to document how costly the violent episode was – particularly in light of the holiday season – and said the car repairs alone cost in excess of $2,000.
“We have no dental insurance,” she said. “It’s like $7,000 we had to pay to get his surgery done.”
Deborah said the pain caused to Joseph was heartbreaking.
“He’s going through enough, and to go through this much pain that he’s been through, it’s just totally unnecessary,” she added.
Groce has a lengthy list of prior run-ins with law enforcement, according to CBS News.
The defendant was previously convicted of burglary in 2010; he was convicted of domestic violence in 2012; he was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle in 2020.
In the present case, Groce is being detained in the Cook County Jail without bond, sheriff’s office records show.
The defendant is next slated to appear in court on Dec. 19.
