Man accused of punching woman during road rage incident on Limestone Street is arrested

A man accused of punching a woman in the face in a road rage incident on Limestone Street last month has been arrested.

Darrell Jason Blankenship, 43, of Corbin, was arrested Thursday by U.S. Marshals, according to a uniform citation filed in Fayette District Court. He is charged with second-degree assault and menacing.

The victim, Kasey Dickens, told police she was stopped in traffic with her window rolled down when another driver, later identified as Blankenship, “approached her from behind, grabbed her shoulder while shouting profanities at her” and, as she turned toward him, “struck her in the face twice and then walked back to his vehicle,” according to a criminal complaint filed in court.

Dickens told police that Blankenship said he “was mad at her because she nearly struck his vehicle.”

Dickens’ boyfriend, Jonah Gentry, was driving a separate vehicle that was stopped in traffic next to Blankenship’s. Police said Gentry, not realizing Dickens had been assaulted, got out and confronted Blankenship, telling him to get back in his car.

The citation states that Blankenship “responded to Mr. Gentry by stating that he had something for him and pointed at his vehicle where Mr. Gentry could see two large dogs (possibly pit bulls),” which police said alarmed Gentry.

Once they moved down the street and Gentry learned Dickens had been hurt, “they stopped and called for police and an ambulance,” the citation says.

Dickens suffered a broken nose, concussion and eye injury during the assault, according to a GoFundMe account set up to help with her medical bills.

Police said they used camera footage and the city’s Flock camera system to identify the vehicle, according to a criminal complaint. Family members of the registered owner and people they had recently sold the vehicle to identified Blankenship as the driver. Blankenship also matched the victim’s description and owns two large pit bulls, the complaint states.

Blankenship was being held Friday night in the Fayette County Detention Center on $20,000 cash bond.