LAKELAND, Fla. – A minor fender bender in northwest Lakeland spiraled into a violent roadside confrontation Saturday night, leaving a Dade City man behind bars and a group of young crash victims fleeing for their lives.
The chaos began around 10:19 p.m. at the intersection of County Road 54 and O’Connor Road. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, two pickup trucks were involved in a light collision. While most minor accidents end in an exchange of insurance information, witnesses say this one immediately turned volatile.
Jamie Dean Mathis, 46, exited one of the trucks and aggressively charged toward the occupants of the second vehicle and their friends, who were following in a separate car…