It's spring, and road rage is in full bloom

Spring-like weather apparently is bringing out the worst in local motorists, with several different road-rage episodes reported to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Department.

Someone reported watching the driver of a red vehicle nearly run over a jogger in a road-rage incident. The witness said they saw the red car attempt to run the jogger off the road. When the jogger reportedly flipped the vehicle off, the driver allegedly turned around and went after the jogger. The witness said they heard the driver tell the jogger he did not have any registration or identification and had just gotten out of prison.

Another driver, this one in a four-door sedan, reportedly tried to run over another jogger and was also seen swerving all over the road. The witness said the driver seemed “messed up.” The driver of the sedan allegedly crashed soon after, and a witness reported seeing the driver exit and run from the car.

Someone reported seeing another angry motorist punch out the window of another vehicle in a road rage-incident. The punching party then reportedly drove off.

A man reported being hit by a driver after he allegedly noticed the driver was driving at very high speeds. The man said he stepped out into the street to get the driver to slow down. The driver allegedly stopped and the two men exchanged words before the driver hit the gas, striking the man in the leg with his car.

The Sheriff’s Office received a report of a hit and run accident that involved a truck that allegedly struck a 9-year-old boy on his bike. The boy reportedly hit his head on the ground and didn’t see where the truck went. He kept saying it “turned around.”

A woman returned to her car, parked in front of a business in Bigfork to find someone reportedly broke the passenger side window and stole her purse.

A black lab broke into a couple’s yard and killed around 14 chickens. The wife told dispatch she had looked out the window to see the dog with a chicken in its mouth and several more lying lifeless around it. The woman did not know where the dog came from, but a deputy responded to patrol the neighborhood in order to try to locate the dog and its owner. In the meantime, the couple was advised to put electric fencing around their chicken coop.

Someone said their car was broken into and stated that the only things stolen were phone charging cables and a 30-pack of light beer. The owner filed no formal report.

Two boys were reportedly seen throwing things at a storefront sign. When the witness drove up to the store, the boys allegedly walked a short distance away, “did some sort of deal” and walked back.

A woman called to report she was chasing a blind German shepherd and a white retriever around on a highway after they reportedly got away from their owner. The woman knew where the dogs belonged but the owners were not home, so she put the dogs in their kennel and left a note for the owners letting them know what had happened.

Someone stole a man’s credit card and used it to pay off their electric bill and to buy a pizza in Columbia Falls. The card-holder could see each purchase the thief made with his card and turned the list over to the authorities after canceling the card.

A young teenage girl was seen sitting on the edge of an overpass. A witness who didn’t bother to stop said the girl did not seem distraught but felt that her sitting there was unsafe. Deputies responded and found out the girl was waiting on a friend.

An intoxicated man was reportedly kicked out of a chicken wing restaurant after causing a disturbance.