A Colchester man is accused of gouging another driver’s eyes during an apparent road rage episode that police say could leave the victim blind.
Aaron Williams, 44, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to felony counts of aggravated assault and maiming, the latter of which carries a potential penalty of up to life in prison.
Police say the attack occurred Tuesday night in Winooski. The victim, a man in his mid-40s who Seven Days is not naming, was driving home from work around 8:30 p.m. when a driver came up behind him on Malletts Bay Avenue and started to tailgate him, then attempted to pass, court records show.
The victim told investigators that he tried to speed up to prevent the driver from getting by, but the man managed to pass him anyway, then slammed on his brakes, causing both vehicles to stop.
The victim said when he got out of his vehicle and yelled, the driver walked over. Without saying a word, the driver punched him in the face and then drove his thumbs into the man’s eyes. The man felt a pop, he said, followed by severe pain.
The driver next threw the man to the ground and punched him a few more times before again attempting to gouge the man’s eyes. He returned to his car and drove off.
Footage obtained from a dash camera on the victim’s car appears to capture his assailant and to corroborate his description of the moments leading up to the attack, according to a police affidavit filed in court. The camera also captured the license plate of the perpetrator’s car, which led police to Williams.
The attack itself, which occurred off camera but was witnessed by at least two people, lasted only a minute, police said.
Unable to see, the victim crawled to the back seat of his car as bystanders called police. The victim was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery. Doctors say that while they are hopeful he may retain limited vision in one eye, it’s possible that both may need to be removed, according to court records.
Williams was arrested Thursday morning at The Bern Gallery, where his attorney says he has worked for the last two years.
He appeared at his arraignment on Thursday in shackles and stayed silent while a public defender argued against the state’s request to hold him without bail. Williams grew up in Burlington and has lived in Vermont for almost his entire life, the attorney said, suggesting he poses little flight risk.
“This is an egregious offense that was committed on someone that was a stranger to him,” countered deputy state’s attorney Susan Hardin.
Judge John Pacht sided with the state. Noting the “extraordinary nature of the harm” and the potential life sentence, he ordered Williams to remain in prison, pending a bail hearing expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.