Trooper cites Latrobe driver accused of road rage incident involving teenager in Salem

A Latrobe man became so angry at a teenager driving on the Route 66 entrance ramp to Route 22 in Salem over the weekend that state police said he got out of his car at a red light and began punching a rear door of the teen’s car, according to court documents.

Troopers charged Joseph M. Yanarella, 28, with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and harassment in connection with the alleged road rage incident that occurred about 6:20 p.m. Saturday.

After repeatedly punching the car, witnesses said Yanarella followed the Greensburg area teen into the parking lot of a drugstore at a nearby shopping plaza along Hollywood Boulevard and “he attempted to enter (the teen’s) vehicle,” Trooper Ty Smith reported.

When the 18-year-old got out of his car, witnesses told Smith that “Yanarella began chasing him around the parking lot with pepper spray, threatening to spray him,” Smith wrote in a police report. Smith said Yanarella did not dispense the spray and “eventually calmed down and stopped chasing” the teen.

Yanarella could not be reached for comment. According to online dockets, he has no prior criminal history in Pennsylvania.