CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Charlotte mom was driven to the edge after a terrifying road rage incident.
“I’ve been doing this almost 25 years, and it's worse now than it’s ever been,” said Lt. John Rowell with the Mint Hill Police Department.
Officers responded Friday to the situation that left Andrea Counts shaken up.
“My only thought is, my son’s crying, he’s upset. My only thought is to get away from him,” recalled Counts.
She said she was driving down Lebanon Road taking her six-year-old son to school when the driver ahead of her slammed on his brakes.
“And it wasn’t like he just slammed, he slammed and then like kept hitting his brakes,” she said.
Counts admitted she honked her horn at the driver, but from that point on, she says it got worse.
“I slow down and then he slows down,” she said.
According to police reports, the other driver was 18-year-old Cameron Sutton. With nowhere else to go on the tight two-lane road, Counts said she tried to pass Sutton but he veered over, side-swiped her car and ran her off the road.
Once she got around him, Counts said Sutton continued to follow her until she stopped at a red light and got out to confront him.
“And I was just walking towards him saying, 'What’s the problem? I have a kid in the car,'” she said.
That’s when Counts said Sutton hit her with his car. In a phone interview with NBC Charlotte, Sutton claimed it was Counts who was the aggressor, saying she was following him closely. He said when she got out her car and came toward him, he felt threatened.
“She jumped out of her car saying, 'You got a problem? You got a problem? I’m like, 'No, but I need you to move out of my way,' and she didn’t move out of my way, so I bumped her with my car. I mean we was stopped, so I just hit the gas a little bit, and she got bumped out the way,” Sutton said, adding he didn’t mean to hurt her.
Witnesses who saw what had happened called the police then rushed to help Counts. She was bruised and suffered scratches on her elbow and back, but she's expected to be okay.
Police reminded everyone the best thing to do in these situations is to simply to never engage.
“If somebody cuts you off or slams on brakes in front of you, obviously it may irritate you, but just let it go,” said Lt. John Rowell.
He added you should try to keep the aggressor ahead of you so that you stay in control.
Both drivers in this case were charged with careless and reckless driving.