VIDEO: Road rage incident in Clearwater ends with Walmart parking lot brawl

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA)- Clearwater Police are investigating a road rage incident that left two vehicles damaged last Wednesday.

Investigators released surveillance video provided by Walmart on Highlands Avenue. The crash happened in the parking lot.

Detectives say David Blakenship slammed his truck into the other driver.

“These two individuals ended up in a parking lot. They never should have been there. It never should have escalated to that and you never ever use your motor vehicle as a weapon to hit somebody else,” said Rob Shaw, with the Clearwater Police Department.

Blackenship was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

Blankenship tells News Channel 8 it was a misunderstanding.

“I pulled the U-turn, coming around and there he was right in front of me. I don’t know if I hit the brakes or the gas, slipped off the foot, I can’t say,” said Blakenship.

Blakenship claims the issue started on Highlands Avenue, in the school zone. He says the other driver was driving erratically.

“All of a sudden he darted out passed the guy in front of him and he had to get back into the line of traffic,” said Blakenship.

The other driver in this case did not want to talk, but police say both drivers confronted each other in the Walmart parking lot.

Investigators say Blakenship accelerated his truck, causing a head on collision.

He said, “I had turned around and you can still see that I’m in the arc of turning around and there he was.”

In the video, the driver and Blakenship are seen fighting in the parking lot after the crash.

Blakenship claims he was not trying to hit anyone. Police disagree.

“The best thing to do is to call your local law enforcement agency if you see somebody driving in a way that you don’t think is appropriate,” said Shaw.