Esteban Enrique Hernandez, 38, was arrested Wednesday after a woman reported being struck in the face by a glass bottle during a dispute in Hallandale Beach. He faces two second-degree felony charges. The allegations and details of the encounter are described in the arrest-report account cited by CBS News.
In the victim’s account relayed by CBS News, she was driving north along the 300 block of South Federal Highway when a black 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer began tailgating her, honking repeatedly and nearly striking her rear bumper. She said she yelled at the driver to stop following her, but the confrontation continued toward Gulfstream Park.
The arrest-report account says Hernandez followed the woman into Gulfstream Park’s parking lot, shouted an expletive and threw a glass bottle through her open car window. It struck her in the face, causing a laceration on the right side of her forehead that required stitches and chipping her front tooth, according to CBS News.
Driver Fled, Then Was Tracked Down Blocks Away
After the woman was struck, Hernandez allegedly drove away. She followed his vehicle to 1610 E. Hallandale Beach Boulevard while contacting law enforcement, according to the report cited by CBS News. A Hallandale Beach patrol officer had already been dispatched to the 1600 block of East Hallandale Beach Boulevard on Wednesday regarding an aggravated battery report.
Officers detained Hernandez in the 1100 block of Northeast First Court. The woman identified him in an in-person show-up as the person who threw the bottle, the account says. It also reports that Hernandez told officers he had just been involved in an altercation and had thrown a bottle.
Felony Charges and Court-Ordered Restrictions
Hernandez was booked into Broward County Main Jail and charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability and shooting or throwing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle. Both are second-degree felonies, and his total bond was set at $15,000, according to the CBS News account.
Florida law defines aggravated battery as intentionally or knowingly causing great bodily harm, permanent disability or permanent disfigurement, or using a deadly weapon, according to the Florida Legislature. The statute classifies the offense as a second-degree felony.
What Florida crash data measures
Florida’s 2023 Traffic Crash Facts report covers law-enforcement-reported motor-vehicle crashes that meet specified statutory criteria, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Its crash figures are not a direct count of violent road-rage incidents such as the alleged bottle attack.
A judge ordered Hernandez not to contact the woman and barred him from possessing firearms, weapons or ammunition while the case proceeds. The arrest-report account does not identify her or give her age or current condition beyond the injuries described. The available account does not say how Hernandez has responded to the charges in court.
