Impatient Drivers Leads To Fistfight Among Parents, Students Outside Cocoa High, Say Police
By WFTV // October 19, 2016
officer injured during the incident
BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA (WFTV) – Impatient drivers led to fistfight Wednesday afternoon at Cocoa High School, police said.
Police said the fight was reported around 2:15 p.m. during early dismissal.
A group of students was getting into a vehicle when the driver behind the vehicle got upset that they were taking too long and began yelling, police said.
Words were exchanged and it escalated to the mother of one student being punched in the face, police said. The parents and students got out of the vehicles and “fists were flying,” police said.
Two adults and a student were arrested and charged with battery, police said.
Cocoa Police Department Public Information OfficerYvonne Martinez released the following statement about the incident:
An officer suffered minor injuries after crashing her patrol car into a ditch while she was responding to an emergency call for an in-progress fight at Cocoa High School.
Officer Amanda Torello was traveling westbound on Rosetine Street with lights and sirens activated. As she was approaching the high school another westbound vehicle stopped in traffic made a left turn as the officer was passing.
This caused the officer to swerve off the roadway and crash into the ditch on the southbound side of the road. Torello was taken to the hospital as a precaution. The patrol vehicle was towed from the scene. The Rockledge Police Department is investigating the officer involved crash.
The call Officer Torello was responding to, involved a fight in the parking lot in front of the school at dismissal which was approximately 2:15 p.m. According to witnesses the driver of a four door sedan, later identified as Kellie Rhynes, 39, was in the car line waiting to pick up a student.
Witnesses say she became angry at the driver of the vehicle in front of her. The witnesses then described seeing Rhynes exit her vehicle and approach the driver of the other vehicle.
Words were exchanged and it escalated into a physical fight when the other occupants of Rhynes’ vehicle also approached and engaged. Officers arrested three adults in connection with this incident.
The suspects and charges are as follows:
- Kellie Rhynes, 39, Battery and Disruption of a School Function
- Cedric Rhynes, 21, Battery and Disruption of a School Function
- Brittany Canada, 24, Battery and Disruption of a School Function
