18-year-old arrested for Clearwater road rage

CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - Video released by Clearwater police on Tuesday shows an SUV veer into another vehicle ahead of an altercation that ended with a gun-toting 18-year-old’s arrest.

Police say the road rage unfolded around 11 a.m. Monday morning along Gulf to Bay Boulevard.  The footage shows an eastbound blue 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander suddenly veer into another SUV at Belcher Road.

The vehicles disappear out of view of the camera, but a few blocks away, police say, both pulled into a parking lot.  That’s when 18-year-old Tia Pisani allegedly climbed out of the Outlander and attacked the 72-year-old woman and her 50-year-old daughter, who were in the other vehicle.  

According to detectives, Pisani even pointed a gun at the elderly woman and pulled the trigger, though the weapon later turned out to be an unloaded airsoft gun. Both of the older women suffered minor injuries in the assault.

"I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be staring down the barrel of a gun while that trigger is being pulled," said Rob Shaw, a spokesperson for Clearwater police. "You have no idea that there's nothing inside it. You have no idea that it's an airsoft gun. You are probably in tremendous fear for your life."

Shaw said the dispute began when Pisani got angry that the driver of the other car honked at her because she didn't immediately begin driving when a traffic light turned green.

%INLINE%

Pisani allegedly fled the scene, but police said they tracked her down and found the weapon in her SUV.  She was arrested on several charges, including battery on a person older than 65, aggravated assault, and leaving the scene of a crash.