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BUCKHANNON -- A man and woman were arrested after an alleged "road rage" incident in Upshur County.
Olivia Grace Hite, 21, has been charged with destruction of property and conspiracy to commit a felony, both felonies, and reckless driving and crashes involving damage to vehicle, both misdemeanors. She is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $21,000 cash-only bond.
Tristan James Champ, 24, has been charged with destruction of property and conspiracy to commit a felony, both felonies. He is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $20,000 cash-only bond.
According to the criminal complaint, prepared by Corporal Tyler Gordon of the Upshur County Sheriff's Office, on Aug. 15, he responded to a 911 call from the alleged victim, who said she had been targeted in "a road rage incident, resulting in a shattered rear window," along with her vehicle "being struck and nearly run off the road by another vehicle."
The alleged victim said that, while traveling on Stormy Run Road, she and her two passengers "came up behind a red Jeep," the complaint states. She said the Jeep pulled over and "a male passenger exited the Jeep and attempted to confront (the alleged victim), believing they had been tailgated."
She said the Jeep then "came up behind her (vehicle) and began honking their horn, high-beaming her, and nearly ramming her from behind," according to the complaint. She said she heard "items striking her vehicle" and saw the male passenger hanging out of the Jeep's passenger window, throwing items.
The alleged victim said "a glass bottle" struck her vehicle's rear window, "shattering it," the complaint states. She said she slowed her vehicle to almost a stop, and the Jeep "swerved around her, cutting her off, and striking the front driver's side of the (alleged victim's) car, causing damage."
She told officers that both vehicles then stopped in the road, and "both occupants of the (Jeep) approached" her vehicle, with Hite, the Jeep's driver and its registered owner, threatening her with bodily harm, according to the complaint. The alleged victim took a photo of the Jeep's license plate and another of Champ, the male passenger, approaching her vehicle.
Gordon took photos of the damage to the alleged victim's vehicle, and then found "numerous glass bottles in or near the roadway, some smashed" on Lick Run Road, the complaint states.
The officer interviewed Champ and Hite separately, with each saying that Hite threw the bottle that broke the rear windshield, the complaint states. He said the damage to the red Jeep ran "nearly all the way down the passenger side, proving that (Hite) was the one moving and collided with (the alleged victim's) vehicle."
He also interviewed the two passengers in the alleged victim's vehicle, whose testimony aligned with that of the alleged victim, according to the complaint.
Damages to the alleged victim's vehicle were approximately $5,362.26, police said.
Champ and Hite were booked into the TVRJ on Saturday.