A Texas man's road rage incident has gone viral after a white woman posted footage of him scaring her and her child. Rashaad Ben was captured on camera by Julie Nowlin as he veered from lane to lane on an Austin highway; once Ben realized he was being recorded, he became irate.
The video shows Ben jumping out of his car, approaching Nowlin's vehicle, spitting on it and saying, "F—k you. Black power, white bitch."
According to KVUE, Nowlin said that as she sped away, she and her 4-year-old child were both frightened. Nowlin stated that Ben then pursued her in his car and almost caused her to hit pedestrians. Eventually, she said, she hid in a Starbucks for two hours before contacting police.
"I was just running for my life; I didn't know what to do," she told KVUE.
After she posted the video on YouTube, other people who said they'd had run-ins with Ben came forward. Ben reportedly has a history of road rage in the town, with a rap sheet that includes being busted on drunken driving, marijuana possession, theft, resisting arrest and driving with a suspended license. He reportedly also spat in a woman's face previously and had to pay a fine.
Since being arrested in this latest incident, Ben has apologized.
"I came here to apologize to my family and Mrs. Nowlin and to the community for acting the way I did and for my obscene language and obscene behavior," he told the news station.
Asked what he could have done differently, he said, "To not let your anger get the best of you because it could get you in trouble or it could have someone hurt. And to just let things go. It's not that serious."
If convicted in this road rage incident, the 23-year-old faces 30 days in jail.