Sonoma teen traffic confrontation goes viral

The behavior of a Sonoma Valley student carpooler doesn't sound like the typical subject matter for a viral video, but a bizarre traffic confrontation in Napa earlier this month has become just that...|

The behavior of a Sonoma student carpooler doesn’t sound like the typical subject matter for a viral video, but a bizarre traffic confrontation in Napa earlier this month has done just that – making headlines from local TV news stations to the nearly 2 million-circulation Daily Mail tabloid in London.

When Napa resident Chris Lundstrom posted video footage of a Nov. 5 confrontation between himself and the teen occupants of a black Ford Escort – a Sonoma Valley carpool of Justin-Siena High School students – few could have predicted the reaction the video would elicit. What started as a simple case of a concerned citizen with a camera lecturing an allegedly reckless driver, took a strange turn when the youth behind the wheel suddenly accused Lundstrom of molesting him, and that the passengers in his car would corroborate his claim.

“I’m calling 911 right now. I’m getting molested,” the teen says in the video. “You touched me. I felt you. They all saw you touch me. You molested me, fool.”

The 59-second video, shot from between two to six feet away from the driver-side window, shows no contact between Lundstrom and the youth. The video, originally posted on YouTube, has since been viewed more than 2 million times, and has caused a firestorm of conversation and commentary.

According to a report released by the Napa Police Department, the run up to the incident began when neighbors in the Brown’s Valley area had reported a series of traffic infractions committed by the driver of a small car during the morning school drop-off period near Justin-Siena.

As stated in the report, “Various citizens reported a ‘teenager’ driving a small black vehicle with passengers, had been driving recklessly most mornings during student drop-off, between 7:45 a.m. and 8:05 a.m., running stops signs, speeding, crossing over double yellow lines, passing vehicles on the left, and not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks.”

On two consecutive days, Nov. 3 and 4, Napa police posted officers in the area but, according the report, “did not locate the responsible driver or vehicle.” On Nov. 5, Lundstrom – identified in the report as “the witness” – captured video of the black Ford Escort in action, utilizing a dashboard-mounted camera. The police report confirms that the video shows the car running two stop signs and driving at “an excessive rate of speed.”

The police report also confirms what is essentially established in the YouTube video – that when the Ford pulled over to the side of the road, near the intersection of Dry Creek and Redwood roads, Lundstrom, who’d been following the vehicle to record its driving patterns, parked and approached the car with a hand-held video camera. After a brief verbal exchange, during which Lundstrom informs the driver that several people had witnessed his dangerous driving, he then states his intention to turn the video over to the police.

“You blow through stop signs all the time,” Lundstrom is heard saying. “You guys think that’s funny?”

At first, the driver is cordial, even apologizing for his behavior, after initially objecting to being videotaped. Then, 45-seconds into the video, he makes the sudden claim that he’s been molested.

“The witness never touched the driver of the vehicle,” states the police report, adding, “These facts could be corroborated by the video of the contact between the witness, driver and passengers.”

As a result of the video evidence, the minor, a 17-year-old Justin-Siena student, was charged by the Napa Police Department with one count of reckless driving, and one count of transporting passengers under 20 years of age, in violation of a provisional driver’s license. According to the Sgt. Brian Campagna, of the Napa Police Dept., no allegations of sexual assault against Lundstrom were officially made.

As to whether any disciplinary action has been taken by Justin-Siena officials, the school’s Director of Communication Eille Mize had no comment.

Email David at david.templeton@sonomanews.com.

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