CHULA VISTA, Calif. – California Highway Patrol officers are searching for a road rage suspect accused of chasing and then attacking another driver with a baseball bat in the South Bay before fleeing the area.

The bizarre incident started Wednesday morning on southbound state Route 125 in Spring Vally where the victim said a driver in a silver Volkswagen Jetta cut him and his wife off then started making hand gestures and throwing items at their car. From there, the suspect reportedly chased the victim’s vehicle traveling southbound through Bonita and Chula Vista.

The victim, who did not wish to be publicly named, pulled over at Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista to call for help. But that’s when the suspect reportedly advanced toward him with the bat, knocking him to the ground and striking him in the head.

“Any time there is a road rage incident, aggressive driving, we take those incidents very seriously,” California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt said, “and we’re going to investigate it.”

The man attacked by the other driver told FOX 5 he was being treated in the emergency room for injuries to his skull and cheekbone. Although the attacker has yet to be identified, they managed to get the license plate of the Jetta.

CHP says driving habits have since COVID-19 and officers are seeing more aggressive drivers. 

“You don’t know what the other driver is going through,” Bettencourt said. “You don’t know if that’s somebody who just committed a crime and they’re trying to get away and that’s why they’re driving aggressively and they don’t care about you or anybody else that’s in your car.”

Bettencourt recommends drivers avoid potentially dangerous situations that could lead to serious injuries or even death.