HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point Police said a road rage assault occurred Monday afternoon on Skeet Club Road.
Emma Fitzwater has taken responsibility her role behind the driver's rage.
Officers said she made a poorly-timed U-turn and cut 56-year-old Ronald Cohen off.
"I will admit I timed it wrong, I cut him off, it looked like I had enough time," Fitzwater explained. "I couldn't just whip it in {the parking lot} because it's gravel and I didn't realize that, so shame on me for that."
But Fitzwater said shame on Cohen for everything that followed.
"If he just flipped me the bird and kept going, I would have respected that but what he did was malicious."
You can see exactly what Cohen did in the cell phone video she captured.
"He called me a 'stupid C-word,' and then proceeded to spit massive amounts of spit on my window, spat twice where my face was at the window, and spat a third time on my windshield," Fitzwater said.
Hours after cell phone video of the saliva-filled showdown was posted on social media, officers charged Cohen with Assault on a Female, Disorderly Conduct, and Covering a Registration Plate.
"I believe it was assault, especially spitting during a pandemic," she stated. "Why are we wearing these {face masks} right now? You know it's to protect other people and he's going to spit that much saliva toward my face? That's malicious, that's assault."
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Fitzwater said she was more offended by his choice of words than the spitting.
"He’ll hate hearing this, but I'm a victim of domestic violence and what he called me yesterday is what someone used to call me," she said. "It brought back those memories and I’m not trying to make this about me but it did."
Yet, she's taking the high road and choosing forgiveness.
When asked what she would say to him now, this was her response:
"First off, and I'm being completely honest, I'm sorry I cut you off. I don’t like to upset people, I'm a school teacher and I hate it when I'm in the wrong and I would apologize to him."
Then she took it a step further.
"I would tell him I forgive him because I do," she continued. "There's no reason to be that angry and me being angry at him is no different than him being angry toward me so I feel like it's what God would do and I forgive him and I hope he finds peace in his life."