The driver of a pickup and a tow truck operator were cited for misdemeanor and traffic charges after state police said the men engaged in a miles-long road rage incident along Route 22 through Salem.
Troopers said they used witness accounts and a video volunteered by the pickup driver to file complaints against David Leroy Bock, 51, of Woodland in Clearfield County, who was driving a tow truck and Gavin Kade Oglesbee, 18, of Elizabeth in Allegheny County, who was driving a 2011 Nissan Titan.
State police responded to reports of an ongoing “road rage” incident along the westbound lanes of Route 22 and pulled over Oglesbee near the intersection with Route 119 about 11:45 a.m. Jan. 20, Trooper Shauntai Hall said. Bock also voluntarily pulled over, Hall reported.
Oglesbee claimed that Bock had thrown a soft drink bottle at him during the incident as he attempted to pass him along the highway and provided troopers with a video, Hall wrote in court documents. Oglesbee complained Bock was towing a U-Haul truck “at a high rate of speed, crossing from the right lane into the left lane, without using his turn signal.”
According to court documents, Oglesbee claimed that Bock nearly forced him into the concrete median when he attempted to pass and Bock tossed the bottle at him as he attempted to pass.
Bock told investigators the incident actually started near the Sheetz in New Alexandria, where he observed Oglesbee’s pickup truck “tailgating” another vehicle.
According to Hall, Bock said he attempted to pass Oglesbee but that Oglesbee “began to brake check in front of his truck” and would not let him pass. Bock claimed that Oglesbee was driving “at a high rate of speed, weaving in and out of traffic” to prevent Bock from passing, Hall wrote.
Another trooper interviewed a couple who witnessed the incident. They faulted both Bock and Oglesbee, Hall said.
The witnesses said it appeared Bock and Oglesbee “were playing chicken with each other and nearly running each other off the road” while traveling at a high rate of speed, Hall said.
Bock was cited for propulsion of missiles on a roadway. Oglesbee was cited for disorderly conduct, disregarding traffic lanes, careless driving and reckless driving.
Both were served via mailed summons. A preliminary hearing is scheduled April 25.
