BRANDON, Fla. - A road rage incident between two men Monday morning landed one in jail and the other in the hospital with a dislocated wrist, 19 stitches above and below his eye, and eight staples in the back of his head.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, around 10:45 a.m., 41-year-old Cheng Hsieh started yelling at 29-year-old Charles Mabry, Jr. after Mabry failed to use his turn signal.
The two continued to yell at each other and, when they got in the area of Heather Lakes Blvd. and Barmere Lane in the Heather Lakes subdivision in Brandon, they stopped in the middle of the road and got out of their cars.
Investigators say Hsieh was armed with a stun gun when he approached Mabry. Mabry turned and got back into his car and tried to run Hsieh over, but Hsieh jumped out of the way.
Investigators say Mabry hit Hsieh's Mercedes on the driver's side door. Hsieh then grabbed a baseball bat and hit Mabry several times in the head, face, and arms.
On Monday evening, Deborah Mabry, Charles mother, said he remains in the hospital. She said he can hardly move his legs. "He doesn't look good. His eye is completely shut, black and blue," she said.
Deborah said her only son is fondly called "Charlie." She also said he was unarmed. She said Charlie was on his way to his job. He works in computers. He never made it, though.
Deborah said, "The guy was shooting a bird at him and yelling at him."
"While my son hadn't got out yet, he tasered him while he was sitting in the car," she added.
But investigators say Charlie then slammed his car into Cheng's Mercedes and it was on. They say Cheng used the wooden baseball bat to beat Charlie in the head, face, and arms.
Deborah said her son was defenseless. "But it happened because the guy tasered him and beat him with a bat. He didn't have no weapons."
Deborah said Cheng hit her son over the head with such force the wooden bat broke in half. She also said her son desperately tried to call 911 on his cell phone, but she said Cheng ripped the phone out of his hands and threw it into a nearby pond.
She said her son, who has been in trouble with the law in the past and struggled with drugs, changed his life around for the better several years ago and was on the right track. "I wish my son would have just drove away. He's a very good person. He does try to stand up for himself and sometimes you've got to let things go."
While Charlie remained in the hospital Monday night, Cheng Hsieh been arrested and charged with Aggravated Battery With a Deadly Weapon. More than likely, Charlie will also be charged in the case while he waits to learn from doctors whether he'll be able to walk again.