Peter Whyte released on $11,000 bond

Whyte accused of stabbing man in Deerfield Beach road-rage incident

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – A man accused of stabbing another man in a road-rage incident in Deerfield Beach earlier this week was released from jail on a $11,000 bond Friday.

Peter Whyte, 42, turned himself in to authorities Thursday. He faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief.

Broward County Judge John "Jay" Hurley set bond at $10,000 for the first charge and $1,000 for the second.

"It does seem that, if true, this is an isolated incident. Perhaps poor judgement, bad day," Hurley said.

According to Florida Highway Patrol troopers, Whyte was involved in an altercation Monday with Tawny Grogin, 22, while traveling west on Southwest 10th Street.

Troopers said Grogin and her boyfriend were driving home from the beach when Whyte cut them off. Trooper said Grogin believed that Whyte, who was driving his friend's car, was following her, so she pulled off the side of the onramp to Interstate 95, believing that Whyte would continue driving south.

Authorities said Whyte pulled over behind Grogin, got out of his car and approached her vehicle.

According to troopers, Grogin's boyfriend, Nolan Goad, 22, also got out of the car and got into a physical altercation with Whyte, and Goad was stabbed in the ribs with a screwdriver.

Goad was taken to Broward Health North, where he was treated for minor injuries.

According to an arrest report, Whyte told detectives that he suffered injuries to his eye, back, neck and left arm during the altercation and said he wanted to be medically evaluated.

Whyte's long-time girlfriend and daughter were in court Friday to support him.

"He's a good person. He does not look for confrontation with anyone. He stays to himself, goes to work, bother(s) nobody," the girlfriend said. "It's just unfortunate for him to be caught up in this. Some people look for trouble, (but) he does not."

The 2000 Grand Mercury Marquis that Whyte was believed to have been driving was found abandoned Wednesday in a Fort Lauderdale parking lot.

As he was leaving the Broward County Jail, Whyte told Local 10 News reporter John Turchin that he believes he was the victim in the altercation. He said Goad lied to detectives, claiming Goad was the person driving the other car.

According to Whyte, Goad was drunk and made racist comments to him before they got into a physical altercation.

"We were fighting. His girl came out of the car – she was in the passenger side. She come out, she grabbed my hair, ripped some of my hair out, he punched me in the face, he twist my neck. He got my head between his legs and tried to give me a head slam on the ground, so I got to fight for my life," Whyte said.

Goad told Local 10 News a different story.

"The black eye was in self-defense," he said. "If you have someone coming at you with some sort of weapon, you may understand that self-defense is the only way to stop it."

According to records, Whyte does not have an extensive criminal record other than a handful of traffic violations.

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About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.