BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- A semi-truck hit a car in an alleged road rage incident on I-65 last week.
The crash has a Nashville man thankful he wasn't seriously injured or worse. Jim Biddle said he was driving on I-65 in the Birmingham area when a semi-truck started driving erratically behind him. Biddle captured the incident on camera.
Biddle, a retired police officer, said he was driving to visit his son when a semi-truck ran into him in a possible road rage incident.
“Nearly put me into the concrete barrier," Biddle said. "I know what happens when a car gets pushed into a concrete barrier. They don’t stay against the barrier. They come out. The truck would have had no way of stopping, and with my car being so small, there would have been a major accident."
Biddle walked away unharmed. He said he called 911 and filed a police report. Attorney Darius Crayton of Farris, Riley & Pitt Injury Attorneys said that is the right thing to do in those situations.
“You want them to actually document this and make this a report that this actually happened to you,” Crayton said.
The incident seen in this video is considered a Class A misdemeanor in Alabama.
“The reason being in that type of crime, that type of incident, you have to prove intent, and it's hard to prove that person did this intentionally,” Crayton said.
Videos like the one Biddle took can help with however you decide to move forward.
“Whether you are calling the police, whether you are filing a lawsuit, no matter what action you take after, you are going to need some sort of proof so get as much evidence as possible,” Crayton said.
Law enforcement officers said the best actions to take during a road rage incident are de-escalation and not engage with someone who is acting erratically on the road. If someone is following you, drive to a police station, fire station or populated area.