On April 18, 2017 at approximately 6:15 PM, officers of the Redding Police department responded to Westwood Avenue and Westside Road for the report of a road rage incident with injuries.
Officers found Jesse Ryan Meeder 18 years of Redding, and David Joe Hyatt 29 years of Redding at this location. Hyatt had injuries consistent with a broken leg. Meeder told police he was involved in a road rage incident with an elderly male driving a car on SR273 where the elderly man tried to run him off the roadway. Victim Meeder stopped his car on Westwood Avenue and the elderly man followed to confront him. Words were exchanged when Meeder told the suspect he was calling police. At this point, the elderly man tried to flee in his car.
Meeder said he stood in front of the suspect’s car and told him to wait for police to arrive however, the male instead drove into Meeder, knocking him over the hood of the car. Hyatt, who is related to Meeder, was a short distance up the road and had not been involved in the initial confrontation. When he saw the suspect strike Meeder with his car, he began yelling at the suspect to stop. The suspect accelerated toward Hyatt, striking him with the vehicle, running over his legs with the left front tire of the car causing significant injuries.
A description of the suspect vehicle and driver was provided to officers. Members of the Redding Police Neighborhood Police Unit responded to assist. Two officers from the NPU began checking areas south of the incident and found the suspect vehicle parked out of view, behind the Win River Casino. Damage on the vehicle, the license plate, and description matched what victim’s provided police. With the assistance of Win River Casino Security personnel, the suspect was located inside the casino and taken outside to waiting NPU officers. The victims were able to positively identify Daniel Dale Dawson, 60 years of Redding, as the responsible suspect in this potentially deadly vehicle assault.
Dawson was arrested and booked into Shasta County jail for assault with a deadly weapon. His car was towed for evidence. Victim Hyatt was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with injuries to his legs, his abdomen, and ribs. He is in stable condition and waiting for test results as to the extent of his injuries.
