Victim speaks out after Pittsburgh city employee charged in road rage incident
A city of Pittsburgh Public Works employee has been charged in a road rage incident.
A criminal complaint said Paul Grguras, 65, sprayed Donald Jones with wasp spray during a confrontation on the Panther Hollow Bridge in Oakland.
See the video: Watch the report in the video player above
Police said Grguras, driving a backhoe, blocked Jones as he was trying to drive across the bridge with his daughters. He approached Jones' car and tore off the sideview mirror.
When Jones got out of his car, Grguras sprayed him with wasp spray, then yelled racial epithets at Jones' 15-year-old and 11-year-old daughters, according to the complaint. The girls can be heard screaming while videotaping the incident.
"My children are extremely affected by this, by the situation that occurred. They're extremely traumatized, and hopefully justice gets served," Jones said during a news conference Friday.
Raynell Jones was on the phone with her daughter when she said she heard Grguras yelling racial epithets.
"My first reaction when she called me and I hear a stranger in the background yelling at her, telling her to 'shut the F up you black B before I break your face,' my first thought was Donald's dead or something happened to him," Raynell Jones said.
Grguras is facing charges of simple assault, terroristic threats, criminal mischief and harassment. Phil DiLucente, his attorney, said: "This was an emotional day for all. I am hopeful now that my client has been released from the hospital for injuries sustained that reasonable minds prevail at the preliminary hearing."
Olga George, a spokesperson for Mayor Ed Gainey, said:
"We offer our apologies to the family who was negatively impacted during their interaction with this worker. The Department of Public Works does not condone behavior that places anyone in any form of harm. Currently, the worker is undergoing our disciplinary process and is not on the job. Until the course of the disciplinary process is completed we can not comment further."
