Out-of-towner claims she was attacked in DC road rage encounter

WASHINGTON - A tourist visiting from New York City says she was attacked in what appeared to be a road rage incident in Northwest, D.C. over the weekend. 

Krystle Cunningham says she was heading home to the Big Apple after a weekend in the District with her husband and some friends. During the trip, Cunningham says she was attacked by a stranger inside her car.

She says it was about 11:30 Sunday morning when they were driving along Massachusetts Avenue.

A man kept swerving in and out of traffic trying to cut Cunningham and the group off of the road.

That’s when her friend pulled over and stopped their car near the 400 block of Massachusetts.

Cunningham said the stranger then got out of his car, ran towards them, lunged into the back seat and punched her in the face.

Photos show the injuries to her mouth and lip, and she says, she was bleeding profusely.  

Now, Cunningham wants to warn others, saying it likely isn’t the first time the attacker has done this.

"I literally froze …  It was just so quick, I couldn’t even click the button to make the window go up so he wouldn’t try to get inside. It was such a shock," Cunningham said. 

"Nothing has ever happened like that, and I lived in the Bronx for 38 years of my life. He has to get caught, he has to, you know, just not be able to run the streets punching random people in the face. It’s not right," she added.

The victim says she filed a police report which included the photos from a bystander who was able to get the license plate of the man’s car as he drove off. Cunningham says he was driving a silver Toyota with the license plate 4EZ7200.

Despite the incident, Cunningham says she will come back to D.C. because she loves the city, but she will most definitely be more cautious of her surroundings, and she urges others to do the same.