Kent State Professor Defends Alleged Road Rage Behavior Caught on Camera in Ohio

— -- A "road rage" incident caught on cell phone video at Kent State University has left an assistant professor at the school injured and facing charges, a university official said.

The professor contends he was protecting a student against a man who was texting and driving.

On Wednesday evening, police at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, responded to an incident near the campus' recreation center, according to a university spokeswoman speaking on behalf of the school's police department.

Witnesses told ABC News affiliate WEWS-TV that the confrontation began when a minivan appeared to cut off a car.

In the video, a man stands at the driver's-side window of the minivan. He screams, "What kind of a moron are you?" and curses.

The video shows Linden Adkins, an assistant professor at Kent State's College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology, appearing to try to grab a wiper blade on the minivan, then captures the van starting to move forward and Adkins falling to the ground.

See the video by clicking here.

Adkins said he was in his car when he saw another driver with his left hand on the wheel and his right hand holding a cell phone. He said the other driver -- who has not been identified or charged, according to the university -- was looking down and texting.

"As with all of those kinds of cell phone videos, they only captured a small portion of it. They missed the three minutes ahead of that," Adkins told ABC News today.

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"He completely ran the stop sign," Adkins said. "I had to swerve to get out of his way."

"The part that really angered me was that a student was crossing the street and she had to leap backwards to get back on the sidewalk -- and he didn't even see that," Adkins added. "I got out of my car and I went to him. ... He didn't even see me coming towards him."

"Then you heard all the things I said ... and I swore," Adkins said. "I didn't threaten him, I didn't do anything physical to him. ... I just made it very clear that what he did was really stupid."

However, the summons issued to Adkins said he "did knowingly cause another to believe he would cause physical harm."

Adkins said he may have inadvertently leaned on the windshield wiper so he could see the minivan driver through the front windshield, rather than trying to look through a tinted side window. As the minivan moved, he said, the van's mirror knocked him down and dragged him.

Adkins suffered scrapes from the fall, the university said, and he was treated at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

Witnesses told WEWS-TV the minivan driver stayed at the scene.

Adkins was charged with menacing, the university spokeswoman said. Adkins, who confirmed the charge, said he does not have a lawyer.

While Kent State does not know how the confrontation started, the incident is classified as a road rage incident, she added. The case remains open, according to the university.