POLICE: Joseph Baccaro Drove SUV Onto Sidewalk, Hitting Bicyclist.
BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — West Boca Raton resident Joseph Baccaro apparently didn’t like being called “Grandpa” by a bicyclist in the area of Tradewind Road and Judge Winikoff Road on Monday. Baccaro, according to police, drove his Honda CRV onto the sidewalk, hitting the bicyclist.
A police report reviewed by BocaNewsNow.com says that two bicyclists were riding on the sidewalk when Baccaro yelled out the window of his car, “watch where you are riding or you’re going to get killed. Do you want to die?”
One of the bicyclists then gave Baccaro the “middle finger” and yelled, “F-You, grandpa.”
That’s when Baccaro allegedly “accelerated with screeching tires,” sped around the corner, and drove up onto the sidewalk, hitting the bicyclist who called him “grandpa.”
When interviewed at the scene by police, Baccaro allegedly said that “his foot got stuck between the gas pedal and the brakes while he was driving east on Judge Winikoff Road.”
Baccaro was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief. He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail just before midnight Monday night. He was released around 2 a.m. on Wednesday after posting $5,000 bond. Baccaro’s first court date is set for May 18th. The condition of the struck bicyclist was not immediately clear.
Joseph Baccaro is 64 years old. It’s unknown if he is, in fact, a “grandpa.” He lives in the 2100 block of Shady Vista Lane which is not far from the incident location.
