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The Hudson man faces charges including battery with a vehicle after he accuses a motorcyclist of reckless driving.
By COLLEEN JENKINS
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 28, 2001
PORT RICHEY -- Accusations of reckless driving on U.S. 19 left one man with minor injuries and another man in the custody of Pasco sheriff's deputies Monday afternoon.
Mark Anthony Peterson, 41, of 9036 Fred St., Hudson, was driving his white Chevy van north on U.S. 19 near Ridge Road in Port Richey when he saw Kevin W. Buckley driving recklessly on his Harley Davidson motorcycle, he said.
"The guy was driving recklessly before he came up to me," Peterson said Wednesday afternoon.
According to a sheriff's report, Peterson got out of his van at a red light and yelled profanities at Buckley, challenging him to a physical fight.
The report said Peterson placed one foot behind Buckley's rear tire and challenged Buckley to run over the foot. When the light turned green, Buckley drove off and Peterson began "swerving in and out of traffic" in an attempt to stay near the motorcyclist. Witnesses told deputies that Peterson then got in front of the motorcycle and immediately "slammed on his brakes."
This caused Buckley to slide sideways and crash his motorcycle into the pavement, barely missing the back of Peterson's van. Buckley's arms and legs were cut by the crash, and he was taken to North Bay Hospital.
Peterson fled the scene, reports said, but witnesses provided sheriff's deputies with information from Peterson's license tags. Deputies arrested Peterson at his Hudson home at 6:49 p.m. Monday, where he admitted to being involved in a dispute with Buckley, reports said. He also admitted that the tags on his vehicle actually belonged on his wife's car, reports said.
He faces charges of aggravated battery with a motor vehicle, leaving a crash scene involving injuries, willful reckless driving and attaching a tag not assigned to that vehicle. His bail was $15,500, which he posted at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Peterson said he did not try to run Buckley off the road and did not know the driver of the motorcycle had lost control. He didn't want to comment further on the incident without speaking to his lawyer.
"I just voiced my opinion" about Buckley's reckless driving, he said.
- Colleen Jenkins can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6232 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6232.