A caller told Summit County dispatch a man was driving recklessly and tried to run another vehicle off the road Sunday.
Court documents state, “as the situation escalated, the driver of the reckless vehicle pulled a pistol out of his center console and pointed it in the direction of the victim and their vehicle.”
Two pickup trucks were involved in the westbound Interstate 80 incident that started around mile 184, near the Wyoming border.
A trooper stopped the suspect about 15 miles away at Echo Junction where they admitted to brandishing a weapon. The suspect claimed both parties participated in road rage.
UHP Sgt. Curtis Blair said a passenger was in the victim’s truck and recorded video of the suspect’s truck.
In the video, the suspect’s truck slows, and the others begin to pass.
"The video is pretty, pretty short. Didn't show any real driving pattern or road rage-like driving, but it is pretty clear that you could see the individual in the other vehicle pointing a firearm at them," Blair told KPCW.
Troopers arrested the suspect just before 5 p.m. Feb. 23. He was booked and released from the Summit County Jail on suspicion of reckless driving and felony aggravated assault, both under state law’s new road rage enhancement, and driving without registration.
The conditions of his release include forfeiting any weapons from his possession.
"If you ever find yourself in that situation, call 911, get somebody on the line and try to create distance between yourself and that other individual," Blair recommended.
The man suspected in the Echo case hadn’t been charged as of Feb. 24.
