A Florida man says he is lucky to be alive after being violently attacked by a driver he had stopped to help following a crash on a highway near Walt Disney World.
Hans Hamilton was traveling north on the 429 Expressway on Monday when he noticed a white Lexus that had crashed into a guardrail along the median. Seeing the driver collapse onto the grass after getting out of the car, Hamilton pulled over to check on him.
What appeared to be a medical emergency quickly turned into a violent assault.
Video from Hamilton’s dash camera shows the man suddenly jumping up and leaping onto the hood of Hamilton’s Tesla. The suspect then smashed the windshield before turning his attention to Hamilton.
Police later identified the attacker as 44-year-old Daniel Coman.
Footage captured the two men on the ground as Coman repeatedly struck Hamilton in the head and body for more than half a minute. Hamilton later said the attack was relentless and left him fearing for his life. Eventually, he was able to break free and strike Coman in the throat to stop the assault.
Hamilton then walked away while Coman remained on the ground.
Deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office soon arrived. According to an arrest affidavit, Coman immediately confronted one of the deputies in an aggressive manner and began swinging his arm as if preparing to strike the officer. Hamilton helped the deputy restrain him.
Authorities charged Coman with battery on a law enforcement officer, assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, battery, and criminal mischief.
Investigators later discovered that Coman had allegedly been involved in a separate hit-and-run crash roughly two miles south of the scene. He is also suspected in another criminal mischief case that occurred earlier that same morning, though further details about that incident were not released.
Hamilton was taken to a hospital where doctors treated him for serious injuries, including a brain bleed, a concussion, multiple bruises, and four broken ribs. In a fundraiser created to help with medical bills and car repairs, Hamilton said he stopped only because he believed someone needed help.
He said the experience has left him dealing with both severe physical injuries and emotional trauma, adding that he hopes no one else has to endure what he went through.
Coman was expected to appear in court Tuesday but did not attend because he had been hospitalized for an unspecified reason. As of Thursday night, he remained in custody at the Orange County Jail.