Jason Espeland: Road rage leads to bully beat down in Boca Raton, police say

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Jason Espeland picked the wrong guy to pick on.

After police say he repeatedly rammed a man's car in the middle of traffic, and the guy confronted him in a parking lot down the road, 23-year-old Espeland threw a few punches and regretted it.

The 23-year-old victim — whom police did not identify — replied with a fury of counter punches and kicks, which promptly dropped Espeland to the ground with two swollen eyes and a cut above his brow.

Just before 9 a.m., an arrest report says, a Boca Raton police officer was called to a parking lot near 1800 NW Corporate Blvd., where the drivers of a white sedan and SUV were fighting.

When the officer arrived, Espeland was in the ambulance. The victim, sporting blood stains and a swollen hand, shared his account with police:

He had been driving his white Lincoln Navigator north on Military Trail when he moved to the middle lane and cut off a man in a white car.

The driver of the sedan, later identified as Espeland, appeared to be upset — because he rammed the front of his 2013 Hyundai Accent into the back of the Navigator six or seven times at a stoplight.

Espeland then cut into the left lane, sped around the SUV and tried to flee. The victim followed, wanting to write down the driver's license plate number.

Espeland finally pulled into a parking lot and parked. The victim blocked his car into the space so he could call police.

"What was wrong with you?" the victim asked, as Espeland got of the car. "[I'm] calling the cops."

"Nothing," Espeland said, before he the threw a punch. Then another. And another.

The victim told police he had no interest in fighting and kept his hands up. But after Espeland threw the fourth punch, he changed his mind.

He punched Espeland twice in the face and took him to the ground. Espeland tried to get up, but the victim kicked him out of fear, because Espeland "had about 80 pounds on him," the report says.

"Espeland then curled into a fetal position, and appeared to [have] conceded his defeat," the report says.

But Espeland eventually got up and ran to his car — but the victim followed and elbowed him in the face

At the hospital, Espeland explained himself to police, the report says.

"I lost my temper," he said, before describing how the victim then overpowered him.