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Two arrested in Lodi road rage
A Lodi man will spend New Year's in jail after allegedly ramming another car with his vehicle Monday night during a road dispute.
John Gardner Classick, 55, allegedly told officers that he rammed the 2000 Ford sport-utility vehicle with his own 22-year-old Pontiac car to get it to stop.
The SUV did stop, and the driver called police to the Kettleman Lane scene. Nobody was injured.
Officers ultimately arrested Classick on suspicion of felony assault, and the other driver's passenger on a misdemeanor of throwing an item at a vehicle.
The dispute began on Kettleman Lane after 10:30 p.m. east of city limits, when a 26-year-old Napa woman was driving east and caught up to Classick, according to police reports. She and her passenger were frustrated at Classick's slow speed, so as soon as the road split into two lanes near Beckman Road, she moved into the slow lane and passed Classick.
He began tailgating the SUV, swerved and pulled up beside it, the SUV's driver told police. Near Beckman Road the SUV's 18-year-old passenger, Blanca Elena Morales, of Lodi, yelled out the window, asking what Classick's problem was.
The SUV continued west with Classick following, reaching the red light at Crescent Avenue, where Morales again yelled at Classick, who was next to them in the slow lane.
Morales later admitted that, unknown to the SUV's driver, she threw a lemon at Classick's car.
Less than a block later, Classick swerved left, striking the SUV. A pedestrian told police it looked like the Pontiac "threw itself" at the other vehicle.
Classick allegedly swerved toward the vehicle a second time but missed.
The SUV's driver called police. Classick allegedly told Versteeg that he hit the other vehicle to make it stop, but later said it was an accident and he had swerved because the item struck his car.
According to the report, Classick initially told another officer, Chris Delgado: "Yeah, I meant to hit him. They shouldn't be doing that."
Classick and Morales, who both live east of Lodi about five miles apart, were arrested.
Due to medication issues, Classick was transferred to the San Joaquin County Jail, where he is being held on $25,000 bail. Courts are closed for the New Year's Eve holiday, so he is not scheduled to appear in court until Friday.
Morales was released on the misdemeanor and will appear in court at a later date.
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.
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Reader Feedback
Lodian wrote on Jan 1, 2009 3:47 PM:
" You can't fix stupid. So why do we keep trying? "
Well, because you never seem to smarten up! LOL!
Happy New Year! "
boonablis wrote on Jan 1, 2009 2:42 PM:
dyan wrote on Jan 1, 2009 1:53 PM:
flight_risk wrote on Jan 1, 2009 7:22 AM:
jbhiker wrote on Dec 31, 2008 3:13 PM:
4AStrongLodi wrote on Dec 31, 2008 9:43 AM:
cg wrote on Dec 31, 2008 9:08 AM:
weezer wrote on Dec 31, 2008 8:41 AM:
Seemed like a Classick case of looking for trouble. (nice one midtowner) "
midtowner wrote on Dec 31, 2008 6:54 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.