Driver seen on video yelling racial slurs before crashing on Oakland highway arrested, CHP says
OAKLAND, Calif. - A driver captured on viral video shouting racial slurs at another motorist before crashing his own vehicle on an East Bay highway was arrested Friday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP officials identified the suspect as 61-year-old Tracy Robert Blackwell.
Blackwell was arrested around 12 p.m. in Newark after video began circulating on social media this week of him driving along Interstate 880, near the Hegenberger Road exit, and allegedly yelling racial slurs at another driver, authorities said.
CHP officers said Blackwell attempted to ram his Jeep into the other car, before he lost control of his own vehicle and crashed into a wall on the right shoulder.
In the video, the suspect can be heard shouting the n-word several times.
Officials said the incident unfolded around 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities have not said what led up to the incident.
Additionally, Blackwell is a registered sex offender. He was convicted in 2001 of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, according to the California Megan's Law Website.
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Blackwell is being held at the Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, hate crime and throwing substance at a vehicle, according to jail records. His bail is at $80,000.
He is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.