Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Sam Penrod Reporting Two women have been charged with assault after police say they attacked another woman in a case of road rage. One of the suspects is a detective in the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.
The road rage happened on I-80, when a car cut off the two women, who apparently were so upset that it escalated to violence. When the victim got off the freeway, investigators say the two women got out of their car and assaulted her.
Sgt. Jeff Nigbur, Utah Highway Patrol: "The driver of the black passenger car got out of the car and opened the door and began assaulting the victim. At that point, we believe the passenger of the vehicle, which in this scenario was the deputy got out to break up the fight, but she also got involved in the altercation and also assaulted the victim."
The altercation occurred in October, but charges were just filed a few days ago. The passenger, who is the detective with the Sheriff's office, is 31-year-old Cynthia Archuleta.
The Utah Highway Patrol which is investigating the case says road rage continues to be a problem. Troopers caution all drivers to avoid getting angry and say if another driver becomes aggressive, call 911. Don't try to take the law into your own hands.
Sgt. Jeff Nigbur, Utah Highway Patrol: "We receive multiple calls a day on people that are upset encountering road rage, they were getting followed by people and as this story shows we have people get out of the vehicle and assault other people."
The two suspects will have to appear in court on the Class B Misdemeanor, which could mean fines and possible jail time if they are convicted. The sheriff's office is conducting its own internal investigation into the actions of the deputy.
Editor's note: The name of the individual driving the "black passenger car" has been removed from this article after charges were later expunged in October 2007.
