Road rage earns man 30 days in jail
A Crystal Lake man who got a little too hot last year when another driver cut into the path of his motorcycle will have a month to cool off in the McHenry County jail.
A McHenry County judge handed Steven V. Bushy, 39, the maximum 30-day jail sentence and maximum $750 fine Thursday for his misdemeanor disorderly conduct conviction stemming from a Sept. 7 road rage incident through Algonquin and Lake in the Hills.
Prosecutors had asked for the maximum punishment, saying Bushy had taken no responsibility or shown any remorse for his actions.
"Anytime he gets on his motorcycle there is the potential for these events to repeat themselves," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney David Metnick said. "If there is any set of circumstances when jail should be given (on this charge), it's this set of circumstances."
Bushy was found guilty of disorderly conduct last month after a short trial over an incident which began, according to witnesses, when a Crystal Lake woman's car cut off Bushy as he drove his motorcycle north on Randall Road in Algonquin.
Infuriated, Bushy chased after the woman for about a mile until she stopped at a gas station in Lake in the Hills. Once stopped, authorities said, Bushy got off his motorcycle, approached the car and began pounding on its windows, yelling obscenities and lifting the door handle in an apparent attempt to get into the vehicle.
Bushy eventually drove away from the gas station without getting into the car, authorities said, but was stopped by police a short distance away.
When first questioned by an officer, court documents state, Bushy admitted confronting the woman and yelling obscenities, but said he only "tapped" on her car window.
But when later placed under arrest, Bushy told an officer he should have "bashed that window and cracked her in the head," records state.
Bushy's attorney Raymond Flavin said his client followed the woman because her car forced him off the road and she then fled what he believed was a crash scene.
"He was angry," Flavin said. "He felt he was in an accident and he had the right to get the person's information and confront her."