PALM CITY — A road rage confrontation between two drivers in Palm City ended with gunfire, a crash and both men being arrested after investigators determined each played a role in escalating the incident, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
The confrontation began Tuesday morning near Canoe Creek and Murphy Road involving 32-year-old William Nicholas Dinardo Jr. of Palm City and 27-year-old Dejon Mitchell Henderson of Port St. Lucie, deputies said.
Investigators said both men engaged in threatening and dangerous behavior during the encounter.
According to the sheriff’s office, Dinardo used his vehicle in a menacing manner, driving toward Henderson’s vehicle on multiple occasions.
Authorities said Henderson then escalated the confrontation by using a handgun and firing a shot into Dinardo’s pickup truck, which was occupied by two people. Deputies said the bullet struck the rear passenger window but was stopped by a toolbox inside the truck, “likely preventing serious injury.”
The incident ended in what the sheriff’s office described as a significant crash involving the two vehicles.
Deputies said the confrontation had ended by the time law enforcement arrived, and detectives were later called to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Following the investigation, authorities determined both drivers were equally responsible for the escalation and danger created on the roadway.
Henderson was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill for firing into an occupied vehicle.
Dinardo was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill for allegedly using his vehicle as a weapon to threaten Henderson.
Both men were taken into custody.