Motorcyclist sentenced for road rage incident in The Villages

A motorcyclist has been ticketed in a road rage incident at Lake Deaton Plaza in The Villages.

Frederick Charles Nelson, 62, of Wildwood, pleaded no contest earlier this month in Sumter County Court to a charge of battery. He was sentenced to two days in prison already served.

A man reported driving his rented 2022 Dodge Ram pickup truck around 1 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2023, near Morse Boulevard and State Road 44, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff's Office. While traveling north on Morse Boulevard, the man in the pickup truck and Nelson, who was driving a motorcycle, “became involved in a verbal road rage incident,” the report states.

The driver of the pickup truck told deputies he “disengaged from the road rage incident” and turned right onto State Road 44 toward the Circle K gas station at Lake Deaton Plaza. He said he was heading east on State Road 44 and saw the motorcycle following him. He parked in front of a gas pump and Nelson approached him. The van's driver's side window was rolled down and Nelson “became so angry” that he reached through the open window and used his fist to punch the man on the left side of the face. The driver of the van got out and tried to defend himself by kicking Nelson. This prompted Nelson, who is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 250 pounds, to force the driver's side door of the van closed, striking the other man's right leg near the back of the ankle. His injuries were consistent with the account he gave to deputies.

The incident was captured on surveillance video at Circle K.

Nelson fled the scene before police arrived, but was found at his home.