A 74-year-old Barnstable man suffered serious facial injuries Wednesday night after a road-rage dispute that began on Fuller Road moved onto Marie-Ann Terrace in Centerville, police and local reports said. Two men allegedly attacked him before leaving in a dark-colored SUV sometime between 8 and 9 p.m.
According to NBC10 Boston, one suspect is described as a man about 30 years old, roughly 6 feet tall and stocky. Cape Wide News reported that police were seeking two white men in their 30s who were last seen in a dark Volkswagen Atlas with an illuminated VW emblem on its front grille. The SUV may have had a second occupant and reportedly headed back toward Fuller Road.
Medics Rushed to Treat Severe Facial Trauma
Emergency responders from the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire Department waited nearby until officers confirmed that the attackers had left, according to Hyannis News. Medics treated the victim for severe facial injuries before family members took him to Cape Cod Hospital, with an officer following. The initial assault call came shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday, the outlet reported.
Detective Eric Rogorzenski is leading the investigation and is asking anyone with information, including residents with security footage from Fuller Road or Marie-Ann Terrace, to call 774-499-3317 or email [email protected]. An anonymous tip line, [email protected], is also available. Police are particularly interested in anything neighbors saw between 8 and 9 p.m.
Camera Debate Complicates the Search
The search comes shortly after the Barnstable Town Council voted 7–3 to end its contract with Flock Safety and remove the town's four automated license plate readers, according to Hyannis News. Police leaders had argued that the cameras, which the report said recorded about 2.2 million plate reads monthly, were important investigative tools. There is no confirmation that the cameras would have produced evidence in this case.
The assault follows other reported road-rage incidents on Cape Cod. In September 2020, Barnstable Police arrested a 20-year-old driver after she threw an iced coffee through an open car window on Route 28, striking and bloodying a sleeping 2-year-old child, according to WHDH.
Roadway conditions and earlier Cape cases
According to the Town of Barnstable's Complete Streets Prioritization Plan, the town's summer population can be at least two to three times its year-round population, and many streets lack sidewalks. The plan also recorded 106 reported crashes involving pedestrians or bicyclists from 2018 through 2020, with the greatest concentration in Hyannis. The town's Planning & Development Department says MassDOT approved the plan in 2023, making Barnstable eligible to apply for up to $500,000 in construction grants for identified projects. Older cases reported by the Cape Cod Times provide additional, separate comparisons. On July 5, 2013, the newspaper reported that a Sandwich man was charged after shoving another driver and waving a pellet pistol following a minor accident on Enterprise Road near the Cape Cod Mall. On Dec. 12, 2015, it reported that a 37-year-old Buzzards Bay man was arraigned after a road-rage incident on Route 6 caused a three-vehicle crash and sent a teenager to the hospital.
Investigation and charging status
The suspects had not been identified or arrested in the reports cited here. Police have not announced what charges, if any, may follow.
Because the suspects fled the scene, Barnstable officers can rely on inter-municipal mutual aid agreements under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40, Section 8G, which grant local police full authority to pursue fleeing suspects across town boundaries into neighboring Cape Cod jurisdictions, as Hoodline has previously detailed in a similar case near Boston.
Earlier Cape Cod road-rage cases
Separate cases reported by the Cape Cod Times illustrate that road-rage confrontations have varied in location, weapons and outcome. On July 5, 2013, the newspaper reported that a Sandwich man was charged after shoving another driver and waving a pellet pistol following a minor accident on Enterprise Road near the Cape Cod Mall. In another case, reported Dec. 12, 2015, a 37-year-old Buzzards Bay man was arraigned after a road-rage incident on Route 6 caused a three-vehicle crash and sent a teenager to the hospital.
For now, key details remain unresolved, including what triggered the initial dispute on Fuller Road, whether investigators have obtained residential surveillance footage, and who else may have been inside the suspect vehicle. Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Rogorzenski or the anonymous tip line while police continue searching for the two men.
