Why did the chicken cross the road?
The joke was no laughing matter for a Florida woman who tried to stop traffic for a wayward bird and wound up in jail.
What started as an ironic experience at a Key West intersection turned into a road-rage assault involving bear spray and a dead bird, police said.
Cynthia Sosa, 38, is now facing two counts of aggravated battery and one count of burglary with assault or battery, according to the Key West Police Department. The charges stem from a July 9 confrontation in which Sosa allegedly attacked another driver after witnessing her run over a chicken that had been attempting to cross the road.
According to the arrest report, Sosa was on her way to pick up her kid from day care. After reaching Petronia Street, she stopped her vehicle to allow the chicken to literally cross the road. However, this blocked the car behind Sosa’s. Police say the other driver, growing impatient, honked and then passed her — striking and killing the bird in the process.
“She was stopped in traffic … waiting to let a chicken cross the road, when [the victim] began honking at her and later passed her, running over the chicken,” the report stated.
Upset over the bird’s death, Sosa allegedly followed the driver, according to Local 10 News.
“Cynthia later followed her because she was angry that she killed the chicken,” according to the arrest report. “Cynthia later got out of her vehicle and approached [the victim’s] driver’s door, attempting to open it,” the report continues. “They began fighting over the door. Cynthia wanted to ‘teach her a lesson,’ so she pulled out her bear mace and sprayed it into the vehicle, spraying Perla directly in the face while she was seated inside.”
Authorities said Sosa then returned to her black Toyota Corolla and fled the scene. The vehicle was later spotted, and Sosa was taken into custody.
First responders treated the victim and her passenger, who were reportedly on the way to a day care when the encounter occurred.
“[The victim] later got around the car and proceeded to her destination while the black vehicle followed her,” the arrest report says. “Once [the victim] was approaching the intersection of Emma St. and Olivia St., the black vehicle jumped in front of [the victim’s car].”
Sosa was booked into the Monroe County Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned on July 24.
