Former Flooring Exec Charlie Eitel Arrested for Road Rage, Eitel Disputes Claims

Naples, FL, January 29, 2024-Former flooring executive Charlie Eitel has been arrested in Florida for a road rage incident, reports Furniture Today.

Eitel, who served as COO of Interface from 1993 to 1999 and CEO of Collins & Aikman from 1984 to 1993, allegedly purposefully crashed his Porsche into another driver and then shot at the other driver after the two exchanged words about a near-miss accident moments earlier.

Eitel is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and leaving the scene of a crash.

Eitel’s lawyer Donald P. Day contacted FloorDaily to report that Eitel was “confronted by an aggressive driver who was driving in a manner than threatened Mr. Eitel and other drivers on the road.” The driver pursued Eitel, drove close to him at high speeds and eventually struck his car, according to Day. Day reports that there are both witnesses and video surveillance supporting Eitel’s version of the event, and he is seeking that the charges against Eitel be dropped.

After leaving the flooring industry in 1999, Eitel served as CEO of Simmons Bedding, chairman and CEO of WS Packaging, CEO of Standard Furniture Manufacturing, COO of Cenergistic and, finally, CEO of Serta Simmons Bedding.