A Sacramento woman faces hate crime charges for her racist road rage attack and assault on a Black man headed home from Sunday service.
Recalling the shocking incident, Asher Norwood said it all started when he honked at a woman in front of him who appeared to be distracted by her phone at a red light that had turned green.
“She began to shout out her window a number of very hateful and mean things,” Norwood told ABC10 of the April 7 encounter. “Things like ‘Go back to Africa, you stupid mother-f-er.'”
The woman reportedly used the racist language before the Sacramento man took out his cell phone to record. Video from the incident shows the woman approach Norwood’s driver’s side window and attempt to smack the device out of his hand.
“Go back to the ghetto, mother f—ker,” she growls. “Go back.”
“At this point something on the inside—call it God, call it whatever you want,” he explained “Something told me ‘turn your phone on,’ because if she behaved like that way the entire time behind you, what’s to say she won’t do something even more crazy going forward?”
The situation was tense, but Norwood said he didn’t expect the woman to get out of her car and confront him over a honk.
Fellow drivers who witnessed the incident told West Sacramento Police they saw the woman “attacking” the guy. Now, authorities are recommending that she be criminally prosecuted.
“The video and the witness statements speak for themselves,” said Norwood’s attorney, Justin Ward.
An attorney for the unnamed woman begged to differ.
“This video is not a full depiction of what occurred that day,” said Jonathan Gonzales. “We have seen his allegations that he has posted on Facebook and other social media sites. She denies any kind of racial statements or wrongdoing at the time.”
Gonzales said he believes there was misconduct on both sides.
The woman, who remains unidentified, was cited for battery with a misdemeanor enhancement for the commission of a hate crime, ABC10 reported. She’s due in a Yolo County court on May 29.
Watch more in the video below.
