PUGILISTIC DRIVERS HAVE DATE IN COURT
THE HARTFORD COURANT
Two shoreline men, each believing the other had cut him off on I-95, pulled over to slug it out Monday evening.
After the fight, one man chased the other down the interstate, and both men ended up being charged by state police.
It was just four months ago that a Colorado man driving through Westbrook on I-95 was insulted by another driver, and pulled out a .44- caliber magnum revolver, the weapon made famous by Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry" movies.
No shots were fired, but the Colorado man was arrested.
Both cases seem to show drivers overcome by frustration, said Lt. Cliff M'Sadoques, commander of Troop F in Westbrook.
"There's a lot of frustration in traffic," M'Sadoques said. "You get two people in the same mindset, and it becomes emotional, it's not the factual situation."
In Monday's incident, it was about 7 p.m. when both men were headed west on I-95, said Trooper William Telford. Each driver accused the other of cutting him off in traffic, Telford said.
The two men got off at Exit 59 in Guilford, and started a fight at the bottom of the exit ramp, Telford said.
Kevin McCaffery, 36, of Huntley Court in Niantic, drove off, going east on I-95. The second man, James Baldwin, 23, of Signal Hill Road, Madison, followed him.
Baldwin called state police from a cellular phone, and both drivers pulled over in Westbrook, Telford said.
Baldwin declined to comment on the incident Tuesday afternoon, and McCaffery could not be reached for comment.
Both men were charged with a misdemeanor count of breach of the peace, and McCaffery was also charged with a misdemeanor count of assault.
They were each released on $500 non-surety bond. They're expected to meet again Jan. 2 when they are scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Middletown.
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