California Highway Patrol officials said both drivers may face charges in an apparent road rage confrontation that was captured on video.
NBC 7 aired the video that was recorded Thursday on State Route 78 near College Boulevard.
Another driver caught the incident in which one man is standing outside a Ford Escape, appears to spit at the driver and then return to the driver's side of a BMW convertible.
Then, in the video, the Ford Escape moves forward and sideswipes the BMW, tipping over onto its side as a result.
Officers with the CHP Oceanside office were called to the scene at 4:24 p.m. CHP officer Hope Maxson said police initially believed it was a hit and run when they arrived to find the Ford in the center median and the BMW no longer at the scene. Then they saw the video.
"It definitely brings forward a whole different story than what we originally thought had happened," Maxson said.
After an investigation the CHP is recommending charges against Kevin McCall, 33, of Vista and Andrew Carson Branch, 23, of Escondido, CHP officials said Friday.
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Branch, the driver of the Escape, was arrested and booked into Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of felony assault, officials said.
"You cannot take your vehicle and veer it at a person. That's assault with a deadly weapon," Maxson said.
Misdemeanor charges against the BMW driver, McCall, will be forwarded to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.
"Our roadways are no place for highway violence and this type of behavior," said CHP Officer Hope Maxson.
