Somehow, people often lose their patience and judgment behind the wheel. While many may simply resort to honking their horns in frustration, some take it a step further. In this road rage incident, a Seattle driver had an unpleasant encounter while driving on Mercer Street in Washington. The driver, who was merging during a traffic jam, was targeted by the owner of Bay Star Plumbing after the maneuver apparently irritated him. The owner then hit the driver’s car, leaving a scratch on the bumper. As if that wasn’t enough, the owner proceeded to hurl hate-filled insults at the driver.
Although the Seattle driver quickly recorded the incident, this wasn’t the first time the Bay Star Plumbing owner had directed hate speech at them. After the unsettling encounter, the driver reported it to the police, but was told there wasn’t enough damage to warrant an investigation. “Maybe the police didn’t take it seriously because the damage was under $1k,” the driver shared on Reddit. “But I’m not convinced it’s below that; a respray of my back bumper would easily cost that much these days.”
Public Backlash
Internet users who saw the video on Reddit were outraged by the Bay Star Plumbing owner’s behavior. While some initially doubted the man’s identity, a quick look at the official Bay Star Plumbing website confirmed it, with his face clearly visible on the homepage.
Armed with this proof, many users began leaving negative reviews for the business. “Absolute jacka—,” one Redditor heatedly wrote. One commenter pointed out that the rating had dropped from 4.8 to 1.8. The backlash didn’t stop on Yelp; some users also took to the Bay Star Plumbing Facebook page, condemning the owner as a homophobic, hateful individual and warning others to avoid the service.
One Redditor wondered if the Seattle driver owned a Tesla, suggesting that the police might take the incident more seriously given the harassment Tesla owners have faced due to Elon Musk’s infamy. Unfortunately, the driver wasn’t in an electric car but instead drove a “Golf R.”
Another Reddit user claimed they had seen the Bay Star Plumbing owner’s face before, alleging that they witnessed him getting knocked out at Lumen Field during the Seahawks vs. 49ers game in October.
The user explained, “Look at his little website bio for BayStar Plumbing, and sure enough, he’s a transplant from NorCal. He was using the same ‘Seattle F*’ phrase then, too. After the 49ers won, this guy was outside the entrance, calling people the F slur and insulting all Seahawks fans. After we walked past him, we heard a commotion behind us and turned around to see someone had laid him out. His wife (also pictured on their website) was also calling someone the F slur while her bigot hubby bled on the ground. Happy little family they are.”
