Palm Coast man charged with three felonies following road rage incident over thrown coffee

The incident began when a woman threw a cold cup of coffee into the suspect's open window and ended with a fight behind Walgreens on Palm Coast Parkway.


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Story updated on Nov. 21, 8:51 a.m.

A Nov. 18 road rage incident ended with a Palm Coast man arrested on three felony charges.

Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies have arrested Donavan Matthews, 36. The incident started when Matthews was arguing with a man and woman in a white pickup truck at the Chick-fil-A on Palm Coast Parkway, according to Matthews’ arrest report.

The woman in the truck threw her cold cup of coffee at Matthews’ SUV. The coffee passed through the open window and hit Matthews. Matthews followed the truck to Palm Coast Parkway and rammed his SUV into the back of the truck, the report said. 

The couple pulled behind a Walgreens to check the damage, and Matthews followed, getting out of his car and trying to punch the woman. 

The man and Matthews began to fight and fell to the ground, with Matthews repeatedly punching the victim in the face. The woman got an unloaded rifle from the truck, and began to kick and punch Matthews.

Matthews has been charged with felony criminal mischief, two felony counts of aggravated battery and misdemeanor assault and battery. 

No charges are pending against the couple at this time for the fight because they were acting in self-defense, the report said, but a battery charge is being filed with the State Attorney's Office on the woman for throwing the cup of coffee.

This story has been edited to include additional information.

 

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Sierra Williams

Sierra Williams is a staff writer for the Palm Coast Observer covering a variety of topics, including government and crime. She graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2021 with her bachelor's degree in print/digital journalism and a minor in political science. Sierra moved to Palm Coast in September 2022 and is a Florida native from Brevard County.

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