A 54-year-old Irvine man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of a racially motivated road rage conflict that police say was captured on Instagram.
Robert Leon Tackett was arrested around 2:30 p.m. on July 24 on suspicion of aggravated assault and a hate crime, said Kyle Oldoerp, a spokesman for the Irvine Police Department.
Tackett was seen yelling at a garbage truck driver about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday when the victims, in another car nearby, passed by while heading south on Sand Canyon Avenue near the 5 Freeway, Oldoerp said.
For some reason, Tackett’s attention was drawn to the other driver and he followed the car, Oldoerp said. Tackett was accused of “driving aggressively and swerving into their lane multiple times,” Oldoerp said, adding it nearly caused a crash.
Tackett shouted racial epithets against Latinos at the driver before hurling a cup of hot coffee into their car, splashing the victim’s face, hands and the inside of his car, Oldoerp said.
The driver made a video of the conflict and posted it on Instagram, Oldoerp said. The conflict was reported to police late Wednesday night.
Investigators asked anyone with relevant information about the suspect to contact police at rsteen@cityofirvine.org.