Driver accused of intentionally ramming another car in St. Pete drive-thru
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A man said he’s lucky to be alive after a customer in the drive-thru at a St. Petersburg Culver’s is accused of intentionally hitting him with his car.
Sean Drake is charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer without violence and a DUI.
According to his arrest affidavit, on March 4 around 11:01 p.m., Drake intentionally rear-ended Maximillian Pelletz’s car multiple times with Pelletz, his pregnant girlfriend and their dog inside. Pelletz said he thinks Drake got angry at the beginning of the drive-thru line.
READ: Sebring hospital shooting: Father, son killed at AdventHealth Sebring, deputies say
"We just, we both raced to the drive-thru and I got there first," Pelletz said. "Nobody likes to wait in the drive-thru line, but I mean, ‘hey, you get there first, you get there first,’" he said.
Pelletz said Drake started honking right away.
"He starts flipping me off, opens his window and calls me a dumb redneck, says I'm ugly. I gave him it back. You know, he gives me the finger. I give him the finger back. I probably should have had some self-control or whatever, and then she's like, ‘all right, quit it,’" Pelletz said, talking about what his girlfriend, Ashlyn Einwatcher, told him.
Pelletz said by the time they got to the front of the line at the restaurant on 34th Street North, he stopped engaging with Drake, but according to Drake’s arrest report, things weren’t over. The documents also said Drake intentionally accelerated, hitting Pelletz after he got out of his car to talk to Drake.
VIDEO: Sharks feast on whale that died after stranding itself off the coast of Venice
"I took a ride on his hood for like 20 to 30 feet," Pelletz said. "My life flashed before my eyes. I am thankful that I am here," he said.
The arrest report said Pelletz fell off the car right before Drake drove onto the main road.
"It happened so fast … My instincts kind of kicked in, you know, because all that flashed through my head was, ‘oh my gosh, this guy was going to take me in the roadway,’ or I was going to go under his vehicle," Pelletz said. "This guy was going to kill me. He kept going. If I didn't get off that hood, I was going to be dead, run over by his vehicle, and I wouldn't be able to be there for our child."
Police arrested Drake at his home not long after he drove away.
"It definitely, definitely makes me rethink a lot of things in life. You know, how to be more safe," Pelletz said. "If somebody wants that spot more than you just at this point, let them have it, because it might avoid you from getting hit."
MORE: Lakeland men wanted in shooting that left 3-year-old boy dead: Police Chief
The St. Petersburg Police Department said that’s a good idea.
"If you run into anyone who's driving erratic, and you can come in contact with them, we encourage you just to avoid it as long as you can, as much as you can," Ken Knight, a spokesperson for SPPD, said. "Just try not to at all come into any kind of words, have any words with them or interaction with them. It is best to leave it to us."
Pelletz said they’re lucky their physical injuries were minor, but said it was a traumatic experience. He had some bruises and a concussion.
"It has kind of messed me up, like mentally, physically, kind of … it has kind of put our life on hold," he said.
The couple delivers food through DoorDash as their main source of income and have been set back because of this and another accident that happened right after the Culver’s incident, they said. The next day they were sideswiped and are now in a rental car, they said.
According to the arrest affidavit, Drake resisted arrest. He tensed his body up when he was told by officers to put his hands behind his back, and pulled his arms away from officers, yelling "no." He tried to run back into his home and was tased by another officer. When the taser effect ended, the report says he continued to resist arrest by concealing his hands under his body, the report said.
Drake has bonded out of jail. His attorney said he isn’t commenting on the case right now.
WATCH FOX 13 NEWS:
SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter