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Justin C. Mitman, who was jailed March 8 in unrelated DUI and trespassing incidents from the day before, was identified after Pennsylvania State Police released photos of the truck and details about the road rage incident, LehighValleyLive says citing Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin and police Capt. Joseph F. Sokolofski.
The woman was putting gas into a silver Toyota Prius when Justin C. Mitman of Coplay, operating a silver Toyota pickup truck, was driving around and yelling at customers in the Wawa parking lot on Schantz Road in Upper Macungie Township, around 2:45 p.m. on March 7, according to Trooper Nathan T. Branosky, and LehighValleyLive.
Once the woman left Wawa, Mitman followed her in his car onto I-78 westbound, where he rear-ended her car near Exit 45, Branosky said.
The woman attempted to drive away by leaving the interstate at Exit 40, but Mitman followed in the Toyota pickup truck and again struck the woman's car, with two children inside, into the concrete median before stopping and yelling at her, Branosky said.
He then fled back onto I-78 Westbound, Branosky said.
The woman and the children were taken to a local hospital for medical treatment, the outlet reports.
Mitman was arrested that day by South Whitehall police for DUI with a controlled substance, defiant trespass, and disorderly conduct involving noise, according to court records.
He was arraigned on those charges on March 8 and held in Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail, court records show.
Police later recovered the Toyota pickup truck and parts of it, including a unique red-rimmed headlight, which matched parts found at the scene, after receiving calls linking Mitman and his vehicle to the incident, the news outlet reports.
Mitman was arraigned Friday before District Judge Tom Clair Creighton on charges of aggravated assault (two counts), recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, reckless driving, careless driving, driving while suspended (two counts, including DUI related), driving at an unsafe speed and following too closely, according to court records obtained by LehighValleyLive.
Mitman remains in Lehigh County Jail, with a new bail amount set at $30,000, records show.
Mitman’s preliminary hearing is set for April 6 at 12 p.m.
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