Forklift Operator Defeats Machete-Wielding Man in Iowa City Showdown

An Iowa man has been charged in connection with a bizarre machete attack on a forklift operator that apparently stemmed from a road rage incident earlier this month.

About 1:15 p.m. Friday, September 4, a construction worker was using a forklift in the roadway at Benton and Dubuque streets in Iowa City when Jeremy J. Mulvaney, 44, or Coralville, Iowa, apparently became upset about the delays he was causing.

Argument Leads to Machete Attack

A verbal altercation ensued between the two men, witnesses told police. Then Mulvaney returned to his car, where he pulled a two-foot-long machete out of the trunk.

Mulvaney then allegedly charged at the forklift operator while waving his machete in a threatening manner, according to news reports.

The forklift operator, who apparently remembered that he was driving a multi-ton vehicle, was not intimidated. Instead, he pointed the forks of his lift truck at Mulvaney and charged at him at full speed, police said.

‘Machete’ Blinks First

The machete versus forklift altercation was averted when witnesses told Mulvaney that police were on their way and he fled the scene. Nobody appears to have been hurt in the incident.

Police later contacted Mulvaney at his home, where he admitted his role in the attack, according to police. He was arrested and charged with “armed with intent”, a Class D Felony punishable with up to five years in prison.

Mulvaney currently is being held in the Johnson County detention facility.