A Plymouth man assaulted an 81-year-old woman during a two-car standoff inside the single-lane Shady Lane Road Tunnel in South Abington Township, police said.
Raymond Cupinski, 61, faces charges of simple assault, making terroristic threats, disorderly conduct, harassment and failure to yield to another vehicle.
South Abington Township police were called to the tunnel on May 16 on a report of a road-rage incident involving two vehicles inside tunnel.
The 81-year-old woman was traveling through the tunnel when Cupinski failed to yield the right-of-way and entered the tunnel from the opposite direction, according to a news release.
Investigators determined Cupinski exited his vehicle and approached the woman’s car.
Witness statements and video evidence allegedly show the suspect striking the victim’s vehicle multiple times, using force against the driver’s side door, verbally threatening the victim, and physically assaulting her. The woman reported being struck in the head several times during the confrontation, police said.
A witness who observed the incident remained on scene and later provided video footage to investigators. Additional surveillance footage from nearby locations assisted in the investigation identifying the suspect vehicle and its operator.
Detectives from the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, in collaboration with the Hanover Twp. Police Department helped South Abington Twp. Police arrest Cupinski.
Cupinski was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Paul Keeler on Tuesday and remanded to the Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on June 23 before Keeler.