Wednesday, December 10, 2003
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Wednesday, December 10, 2003 |
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Parking lot rage in PTC By JOHN MUNFORD An irate axe-wielding shopper chased after a driver in a fit of parking lot rage at Peachtree City’s Wal-Mart Sunday morning, threatening to “teach” the motorist a “lesson about respect,” police said. James William Hurtt, 56, was angered after Austin Virgil, 30, almost struck him while Hurtt pushed his cart through the pedestrian crossing in front of a store entrance, said Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray. Virgil also revved his engine before passing Hurtt, perhaps to emphasize his point, and when Virgil drove by, Hurtt struck the vehicle with his hand as it passed, police said. Hurtt then escalated the confrontation by walking up to Virgil, telling him “he needed to be taught some manners and he had just the thing to do it,” Murray said. Then Hurtt retrieved his newly-purchased axe to make his point, police said. Virgil fled into the store and was unharmed, though Hurtt chased him briefly, police said. The confrontation was witnessed by an off-duty Fayette County sheriff’s deputy, Murray noted. Hurtt, of Hogansville, was charged with aggravated assault and booked at the Fayette County Jail. Virgil was cited with a ticket for reckless driving. When making contact with Hurtt after the incident, an officer noticed the axe in Hurtt’s vehicle and Hurtt confessed to letting his emotions get the best of him, police said.
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