MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A Miami Gardens man was arrested Tuesday, more than two months after Hialeah police said he tracked down another driver following a road rage dispute at a Walmart parking lot and violently slammed him to the ground, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.
According to an arrest affidavit, the confrontation happened May 23 at a Walmart at 400 W. 49th St. in Hialeah after Christian Jose Salgado and the victim, who were strangers, became involved in a verbal dispute while driving through the parking lot.
Investigators said the victim parked his vehicle while Salgado initially drove away. Police said Salgado then returned to the parking lot, parked directly behind the victim’s vehicle and blocked him from leaving.
The victim was inside the vehicle with his visibly pregnant girlfriend, who was eight months pregnant, and a young child, investigators said.
According to police, Salgado got out of his vehicle, approached the victim, placed his hands behind his back and repeatedly challenged the victim to hit him before punching him in the face.
A fight followed, during which investigators said Salgado grabbed the victim around the waist, lifted him into the air and slammed him onto the ground.
Police said the victim suffered a head laceration and was taken to a hospital before being transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he was diagnosed with a skull fracture and internal and external brain bleeding.
Investigators said he underwent emergency surgery and also suffered fractures to multiple vertebrae in his neck and lower back, multiple broken ribs, a fractured sternum and a lacerated ear that required stitches.
According to the affidavit, the victim continues to experience memory problems, difficulty standing for extended periods and has not returned to work while undergoing physical therapy.
He is also awaiting further evaluation to determine whether spinal surgery is necessary.
Investigators determined Salgado was the primary aggressor because he returned to the scene, blocked the victim’s vehicle and reinitiated the confrontation.
Salgado was arrested Tuesday at his Miami Gardens home and taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
A judge found probable cause and set his bond at $15,000.
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