A truck driver is being held on bond after a road rage incident involving an armed motorist.
The incident happened on Friday, April 22nd at around 1:30 p.m. in Clark County, Washington on Interstate 5 north of the Northeast 99th Street exit.
According to The Columbian, 33-year-old motorist Zachary Thurman was driving along I-5 when some debris flew off of a flatbed truck and struck his vehicle. Thurman tried to get the flatbed driver’s attention but was unsuccessful. Just then, 56-year-old trucker Joseph A. Horn began to change lanes in his own truck, forcing Thurman off of the road and into the concrete barrier wall. Thurman says Horn tried to trap him against the wall with his truck “like something you would see in a movie.”
Thurman says he was then able to get away and attempted to pass the semi truck in the right lane, but was struck and then spun out, eventually stopping after hitting the grill of the truck. The truck then pushed the car sideways before coming to a stop. Horn then exited his vehicle and approached Thurman with a wooden club, prompting Thurman to grab a pistol. Thurman then held the gun up to the car window to show Horn that he was armed, but claims that he did not point it at Horn.
Horn then returned to his truck while Thurman exited his vehicle through the passenger side to ‘gain distance,’ and that’s when Horn emerged from his rig with his own gun. Thurman claims that Horn then threatened to kill him and chased him down the freeway, forcing Thurman to weave and duck through cars to take cover as the gun was pointed at him. A witness then notified the two men that police were coming and Horn walked away.
Horn later told investigators that he knocked into Thurman’s car because he thought he was intervening in a road rage incident between Thurman and the flatbed truck. Horn says he intentionally tried to put his rig sideways in front of Thurman. Horn also admitted to grabbing a wooden club to strike the hood of Thurman’s car, and admitted to grabbing his gun and pursuing Thurman in order to ‘disarm him.’
Officers were able to locate a revolver and a wooden club in the center lane next to Horn’s tractor trailer. Horn admitted the items were his. A black pistol and a knife were also found 100 feet behind Horn’s rig. Those allegedly belonged to Thurman.
Horn appeared in court on Monday morning, April 25th on suspicion of first-degree assault. His bail has been set at $20,000 and he is scheduled to be arraigned on May 6th.