Man accused of road rage incident while riding ATV in Union Township
A man is accused of using his all-terrain vehicle to chase four people riding in a UTV side-by-side along wooded trails near Finleyville before slamming into their off-road vehicle in an attempt to crash them.
Monongahela police charged Matthew Michael Zayac with four felony counts of aggravated assault and four misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment, along with two counts of criminal mischief following the incident shortly after 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Police said the four people were riding in their UTV in woods behind a neighborhood near Route 88 in Union Township that was on private property, but where they previously had permission to use when Zayac approached them on his ATV and began berating them to leave.
The group turned around and proceeded to go back from where they came as Zayac pursued them, according to court documents. Once they got to public property, they demanded Zayac stop following them, but he continued to go on public streets as they traveled along McChain Road, Finleyville-Elrama Road and Norman Avenue until they got back to Don Street where one of them lived.
During the ride back, Zayac repeatedly rammed both sides of the UTV while trying to spin out the vehicle and damaging it as he shouted obscenities at the group, police said. Once the group reached the Don Street residence, Zayac continued to ride back and forth shouting at them before eventually leaving, according to court documents.
Police said Zayac was intoxicated at the time, and was driving with a beer in his hand that he lost while riding on McChain Road.
Zayac, 45, of Union Township, was arraigned Tuesday night by District Judge Kelly Stewart and sent to the Washington County jail on $25,000 bond while awaiting his preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for Oct. 5 at 1:45 p.m.