Road rage driver on the A9 used baseball bat to attack Mercedes

CRIME: Daylight incident occurred after ‘minor’ bump on busy stretch of road

A baseball bat-wielding motorist attacked a car on a notorious stretch of busy road after a crash.

Police are asking for dashcam footage to help trace the man who responded to a “minor” A9 bump by leaving his car and smashing up the vehicle behind with a baseball bat.

An investigation has been launched into the incident on Sunday afternoon and officers are asking for passing motorists to help, although they say they are following positive leads.

The incident happened in traffic just south of Dunkeld on the southbound side of the carriageway.

Police say at around 1.45pm a grey Vauxhall Astra pulled in front of a red Mercedes A-class and braked sharply, causing the collision.

The driver of the Astra left his vehicle and used the baseball bat to hit the Mercedes several times before the Mercedes driver was able to escape.

Most of the stretch of road is currently subject to a 40mph speed limit due to Transport Scotland’s carriageway dualling project.

Traffic cones start closing off the overtaking lane of the southbound dual carriageway about a mile south of Dunkeld and motorists in the right-hand lane are given around 1,000 yards to merge into single file.

The show of aggression happened in a live lane of the A9, which was busy with weekend traffic at the time.

The Astra driver was described to officers as being a white man with a tanned complexion, about 5ft 9in and of stocky build with very short dark hair and facial stubble.

At the time of the attack he was wearing a grey, short sleeved T-shirt and blue jeans.

A police spokesperson said: “We are investigating an incident which took place about 1.45pm on Sunday 23rd August on the southbound A9, about five miles north of Bankfoot.

“A grey Vauxhall Astra pulled in front of a red Mercedes A-class and braked suddenly, leading to a minor collision.

“The driver of the Astra then got out of his car and hit the Mercedes with a baseball bat or similar item a number of times before the Mercedes driver was able to drive away.

“While we are following positive lines of inquiry, we would still like to hear from anyone who witnessed this incident, or may have dashcam footage of all or part of it.

“If you have any information that could assist our investigation, please call 101 or speak with any police officer.

“Also, information can be given anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Our reference is incident 2098 of 23rd August.”