By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-05 04:01:15 | Updated at 2026-08-05 20:50:17
17 hours ago
A late-night argument in Southern California took a terrifying turn when an enraged man allegedly used a tractor to repeatedly crush a woman’s car with her still inside.
Levi P. Gaze, 38, allegedly rammed the vehicle multiple times with a front-loader tractor around 12:03 a.m. Saturday in the 1700 block of Sinton Road in Santa Maria, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman managed to escape the mangled vehicle without suffering serious injuries.
Investigators said Gaze allegedly used the heavy machinery to settle the dispute before deputies arrived and safely “contacted Gaze while he was still in the front loader and took him into custody without incident,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Gaze was booked into the Northern Branch Jail on felony charges of vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon. Jail records show he is being held without bail because of an outstanding warrant out of San Luis Obispo County.
Most recently, a Florida man also allegedly used a tractor to destroy a car late July.
A 52-year-old man named Johnny Paulk tried to ram the vehicle of a roadside crew and threatened to run over the workers after they flashed lights near his property.
“He tried to kill us, the ground stopped his forks. He said he was going to flip our truck,” one victim told an officer according to LOCAL 12.
