Suspected Tesla driver behind SoCal road-rage attacks arrested
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A man suspected of being the Tesla driver involved in a series of road-rage attacks in Southern California has been arrested, authorities said Monday.
At least 10 people have come forward saying they've had frightening encounters with the man, in several cases capturing him on video smashing the sides of cars with a metal pipe.
A suspect linked to those attacks was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers at a carwash in Torrance Sunday afternoon and booked into LAPD's 77th jail.
He has been identified as 36-year-old Nathaniel Walter Radimak. He was booked for assault with a deadly weapon and on two outstanding warrants. Initial bail was listed at $5.175 million. His car, a 2022 Tesla Model X, was seized.
A car wash employee spoke with Eyewitness News and said he and his co-workers recognized Radimak immediately.
"Thankfully he didn't kill somebody," said a concerned driver. "When you have rage issues of that magnitude, it's frightening."
Video obtained by ABC7 showed the suspect smashing a car with a pipe on the 2 Freeway in Glendale.
The CHP says Sunday's arrest at this time was just for the Jan. 11 assault on the 2 Freeway. The investigation is continuing.
The CHP asked anyone with further information to contact the agency's Los Angeles office at (213)744-2331 or after-hours call the CHP Traffic Management Center at (323)259-3410.
"Everybody's going to have to have their day in court and it's almost like they have to get revictimized," said the concerned driver.
After the victim in the 2 Freeway incident came forward, others began detailing their own encounters with the same man. Eventually people outside of California joined to help investigate via social media.
Caught on camera: Man attacks car with pipe in road-rage incident on 2 Freeway in Glendale
Popular internet sleuth TizzyEnt began sharing Eyewitness News videos to his 5.3 million TikTok followers. The influencer said three people came forward with the suspect's name, which he passed along to police.
"It was kind of shocking to hear how much had happened, how many incidents and how many victims there seemed to be, and that just reinforced the fact that this is not OK," he said. "This guy needs to get off the street."
Tizzy also told his followers Radimak was a career criminal, with attacks stretching across the country. In L.A. County, his crimes include criminal threats and stalking, dating back more than a decade.
One of the suspect's attacks included punching a woman in the face and leaving her with a black eye in October 2021.
RELATED: Man with metal pipe in road-rage video on SoCal freeway involved in other incidents
Another victim who had her tires slashed in West Hollywood in March said she is thankful for the attention the attacker has now gotten.
"For the past year, in part of my mind I thought: was there someone out to get me?" she said. "All these different accounts have been good to know that it wasn't me specifically.
Another victim who wished to be identified only as Beth, said she's thankful Radimak is in custody.
"The why behind it ... I don't know if it was a breakdown, or he was going through something more than that, I would like to know why," she said.
