PALM COAST, FL – A seemingly minor dispute at a Chick-fil-A in Palm Coast escalated into a full-blown road rage incident that ended with a man facing multiple felony charges. The incident began when an occupant of a pick-up truck threw a cup of coffee at 37-year-old Donavan Matthews, who was driving his SUV. Matthews allegedly responded by ramming his vehicle into the back of the pick-up truck on Palm Coast Parkway.
The confrontation didn’t end there. Both parties pulled into a parking lot behind a local Walgreens, where a physical altercation ensued. The situation took a dangerous turn when one of the pick-up truck occupants produced a rifle. By the time authorities arrived, Matthews was taken into custody and charged with three felonies and two misdemeanors. The occupants of the pick-up truck were not arrested.
The trigger for the initial disagreement at the Chick-fil-A is still unclear. The pick-up truck was driven by a couple while Matthews was alone in his SUV. The couple alleged that Matthews had been shouting obscenities at them from the Chick-fil-A to Boulder Rock Drive, where the coffee cup was thrown into Matthews’ vehicle. The coffee, though cold, spilled inside Matthews’ SUV, which reportedly upset him.
Matthews then allegedly followed the pick-up truck and rammed into it from behind, causing it to jolt forward. Both vehicles pulled over near the Walgreens, where the physical altercation ensued. According to the woman in the pick-up truck, they had stopped to check for damage when Matthews approached and initiated the fight.
The fight reportedly saw Matthews attempting to hit the male driver with a closed fist, leading to a scuffle that ended with Matthews on top of the man, repeatedly hitting him. The woman then retrieved an unloaded rifle from their vehicle, which she claims was used to help free the man from Matthews’ assault.
Multiple witnesses and surveillance footage from Walgreens corroborated the sequence of events. Following his arrest, Matthews was charged with three counts of battery, two of which are third-degree felonies, a count of felony criminal mischief causing over $1,000 in damages, and a count of assault. He was held at the county jail on a $33,000 bond and remains in custody.