A woman involved in a road rage incident in Morgantown that led to charges against an ex-sheriff's deputy said she originally tried to escape after the initial incident.
William S. Sothen, 63, was charged with misdemeanor battery on Wednesday. Sothen stepped off his motorcycle and argued with Amber Generally, 21, on Van Voorhis Road, according to a criminal complaint. They argued in the center lane until Generally tried to get back in her car. Sothen pushed her and slammed the door shut, according to the complaint. She pushed him back, and he grabbed her by the neck, the complaint states.
When Generally pushed him back, Sothen grabbed her by the neck, the complaint states. A video, filmed by another driver and posted online, shows Sothen pushing Generally into his motorcycle and then wrestling her onto the road.
Generally, an interior design and architecture student at Fairmont State University, said Thursday the fight caused her to miss a week of classes. She said her elbow was broken, and her leg was burned when it touched Sothen's hot motorcycle.
"At that point I'd go home and I rest and I nap all day because my leg is burnt," she said. "My entire body aches. My elbow is fractured."
According to the complaint, the struggle caused an earring to rip out of Generally's ear. She also scraped her calf.
The video ends with both people on the ground, after Generally punched the helmet on Sothen's head several times.
"I just kept slapping and punching him until I could get up," she later said. "He manages to get me right on my stomach, on the ground, and has my right arm extended out and keeps laying down on it." She said she thought her arm might break, so she struggled to get on her feet and open the car door.
Sothen again shut the door and pinned Generally against the car, according to the complaint. Then, the complaint states, an off-duty West Virginia University police officer stopped the traffic brawl.
Hundreds of people shared a 30-second clip of the video on Twitter. Generally said the original video is four minutes long.
The altercation started on the interstate, according to a news release from the Morgantown Police Department. Both Sothen and Generally took part in the incident by "yelling and screaming," along with "exchanging hand gestures," the release states.
Generally said the incident started when Sothen drove next to her on the interstate, blocking her from changing lanes. She said a faulty transmission prevents her car from safely driving more than 65 miles per hour, and she screamed at Sothen in frustration.
After that, she said, the road rage escalated and she tried to escape, but she and Sothen ended up at a traffic light on Van Voorhis Road.
"My window is already down, and he yells, 'Just because you're black doesn't mean you own all of the [expletive] road," Generally said. She said she stepped out of her car and called Sothen a "cracker." A video captured the ensuing fight.
"I am a really feisty type of person, but not enough to have me put my hands on him first," she said.
Sothen was released on a $5,000 bail after being charged Wednesday. He retired from the Harrison County Sheriff's Department earlier this year, according to media reports.
Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @Gsabella on Twitter.