After road rage incident in Centre County, 2 New York City men charged with assault
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- Two NYC men face felony assault charges after alleged I-80 road rage attack.
- Police say suspects used knife and bat to assault driver near Snow Shoe exit.
- Troopers found weapons in vehicle; judge denied bail citing flight risk.
Two New York City men were charged Wednesday after a driver said they assaulted him with a knife and baseball bat during a road rage incident that began on a major highway in Centre County.
Erekle Mechurtchlishvili, 36, and Vasili Popiashvili, 34, were each arrested on a felony count of aggravated assault, a misdemeanor count of simple assault and a summary count of harassment.
The driver told state police at Rockview he merged into the left lane of Interstate 80 westbound as required in the construction zone for the high-speed interchange. Mechurtchlishvili and Popiashvili then engaged in “reckless operating behavior” and yelled out their window.
After taking the Snow Shoe exit in an attempt to get away, the driver said Mechurtchlishvili and Popiashvili followed him into the parking lot near Rees’ Truck Stop and parked in front of him.
Popiashvili approached with a knife while Mechurtchlishvili wielded a bat, a trooper wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. They climbed onto the driver’s truck and struck him multiple times in the head and body, police wrote.
The driver had a laceration, but troopers said he refused treatment.
Mechurtchlishvili and Popiashvili were stopped on I-80 westbound by state police at Clearfield. Multiple knives and a baseball bat were found in their 2019 Freightliner, police wrote.
They were arraigned Wednesday by District Judge Gregory Koehle, who denied bail after deeming them a flight risk. They are incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility. No defense lawyer was listed.
Each has a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 25.
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM.