An Alabama man started a fight at a gas station in Niceville, Florida, because he was angry about a traffic ticket. The Walton County Sheriff’s Office says that 40-year-old Thomas Keebler, who lives in Alabama and has had several run-ins with the law so far in 2023, attacked three teens at a gas station because they did something he didn’t like on the road.
This is a surveillance video from the gas station that shows Keebler pulling in before the teens but not getting close to a pump. He blocks the kids in at a pump instead, which seems like an attempt to start a fight.
If someone is following you while angry on the road and waits until you’ve stopped before getting out of their car, the worst thing you can do is get out of your car and argue with them. The video doesn’t have sound, so we don’t know what the kids said. But you can see that Keebler was initially grabbing the Kia Soul’s door handles because he wanted to talk to them in person.
As is often the case, Keebler became more hostile toward the kids after they got out of their car, and the behavior finally turned violent. At one point, he even pushes the girl who got out of the Kia. She knows what to do and runs off to get help while the man beats and throws her friends to the ground.
The guy the young girl called over seems to step in and make things better. Keebler then starts to get into his truck, but not before another man can be seen walking toward it with his phone, clearly recording the event. As Keebler drives off, the other man points the phone at the back of the truck. I think that was a smart move because the security video is only 480p, which is not good.
He is being charged with beating and child abuse by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. When detectives called him about what happened at the gas station, the man turned himself in. Keebler has a long past of crimes, including assault, so it’s clear that he doesn’t mind using violence to make a point. This is why making road rage worse is not a good idea; the other person might not know their boundaries.
