Man stabs victim in ‘road rage incident’ in Atascadero, then flees, police say
A Templeton man stabbed another man during a road rage-fueled fight in Atascadero on Monday, according to the Atascadero Police Department.
Gary Wayne Benites, 67, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, police said in a news release.
Atascadero police officers and Atascadero Emergency Services personnel were dispatched to the intersection of El Camino Real and Morro Road at approximately 6:35 p.m. Monday to help a victim of a stabbing, the release said.
After arriving on the scene, they “learned two subjects had been involved in a road rage incident” at the intersection, police said.
“During an altercation, a male victim was stabbed once in the upper chest area,” police said.
According to police, the suspect – later identified as Benites – fled the area after the fight.
“However, the victim was able to take a photograph of the suspect’s vehicle” and license plate, the release said, and police shared that information with area law enforcement agencies.
Members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office later located the suspect’s vehicle in Paso Robles near the intersection of South River Road and Niblick Road, the release said.
According to police, the stabbing victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was in stable condition.
Benites was being held Tuesday at San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail, according to jail records.
Monday’s alleged stabbing follows another recent road rage-related incident.
One person died after an altercation on Los Berros Road in Arroyo Grande led to a shooting on Friday, according to Sheriff’s Office radio traffic.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 10:03 AM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said that Friday’s road rage-related shooting took place in Atascadero. The error has been corrected.
