MEREDITH - A local business owner suffered a broken leg when he was intentionally struck by a motorist on Interstate 91 in Hartland, Vt. early Saturday morning.

Dean Mason, owner of Mason Marine Construction, was in good condition at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center after suffering a broken femur and injuries to both legs when a driver struck him as he was pouring fuel into his truck on the side of an I-91 off-ramp about 2 a.m.

Mason said he had run out of gas and another motorist had given him a ride to get fuel. After he returned to his truck and was pouring fuel in the tank, Mason said, a man driving a mid-sized car drove by.

"He shouted something like, 'Buy a Chevy!' as he went by," Mason said from his hospital bed Wednesday morning.

A few minutes later, the same vehicle approached again, according to Mason.

"It was the same guy, only this time he came right at me," Mason said.

The driver smashed into Mason, hitting him in the legs and abdomen. "I don't know if it was road rage or what," Mason said. "But he drove right into me and ended up pinching me between my truck and his door, and then he drove off."

Mason was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock and treated, and he said he hopes to go home to Meredith by this weekend.

A Vermont State Police spokesman said the incident is under investigation and police are looking for the driver of the mid-sized black sedan that hit Mason.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Vermont State Police at the Royalton barracks at (802) 234-9933. Vermont police are urging the driver to come forward to face possible criminal charges.

Mason said he expects the driver to be caught.

"He did so much damage to his car, the passenger-side windshield was blown out and his door is badly damaged, so they should be able to find him," Mason said.

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