'Aggressive driver’ shoots at car during road-rage incident on I-4, troopers say

Victim not injured

TAMPA, Fla. – A man yelled at then shot toward another driver who he believed cut him off while they were both driving on Interstate 4, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Troopers said the victim, 38-year-old Branden Rybak, got onto westbound I-4 from Alexander Street Monday night and immediately encountered the “aggressive driver.”

“Then I got in an open lane and I was switching lanes to continue, you know, my flow of traffic and I guess the guy behind me in the middle lane when I switched over he, I guess, assumed that I cut him off or whatnot, which I did not, and started flashing his lights and riding my bumper for a bit and proceeded to pull up next to me and yell at me and whatnot and then as I tried to go around him, he shot at my car,” Rybak told a 911 operator.

Rybak said he immediately got off I-4 at Branch Forbes Road when he heard a pop and saw a flash, records show. When he examined his vehicle, he saw a bullet hole on the front driver’s side above the tire.

Troopers said they examined the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta and found a partially flattened bullet in the engine compartment.

Rybak was not injured.

Troopers said the shooter was driving a maroon-colored pickup truck, likely a Toyota Tacoma. He was described as a white male, possibly in his 40s, with facial hair.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call troopers by dialing *FHP or calling 813-558-1800. Information can also be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 800-873-TIPS.


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