A Texas man involved in a road rage incident Friday on northbound Interstate 5 in Hazel Dell allegedly chased a man down the freeway while armed with a revolver. The alleged victim had also armed himself with a gun.
Joseph A. Horn, 56, of Corpus Christi, appeared Monday morning in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree assault. Judge Suzan Clark set his bail at $20,000. He is set to be arraigned May 6, court records show.
Multiple agencies, including the Washington State Patrol and Clark County Sheriff’s Office, responded to a two-vehicle crash reported at 1:30 p.m., just north of the Northeast 99th Street exit.
Dispatch advised that both parties had armed themselves with handguns, and multiple people were calling 911. All northbound lanes were shut down for the response, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Upon arrival, officers found a tractor-trailer with a Toyota FJ Land Cruiser in its grill. It appeared the Toyota had spun, causing a T-bone crash. No one was inside either vehicle, the affidavit states.
Investigators said they determined Horn was the driver of the tractor-trailer, and 33-year-old Zachary Thurman was the driver of the Toyota.
Officers located a revolver and wooden club from the center lane next to the tractor-trailer, which Horn allegedly admitted were his. A black pistol and knife were also found about 100 feet behind the tractor-trailer, apparently belonging to Thurman, court records say.
Thurman told investigators he was trying to get the attention of the driver of a third vehicle, described as a flatbed truck, after some debris flew out and struck his mother’s vehicle. He said he tried to get the driver to stop and wave him over but was unsuccessful, according to the affidavit.
That’s when he noticed Horn’s tractor-trailer begin to change lanes from the center lane, forcing Thurman off the road and into the concrete barrier. He said the tractor-trailer tried to box him into the barrier, “like something you would see in a movie,” the affidavit states.
Thurman said he was able to get away and attempted to pass the tractor-trailer in the right lane, but he was struck on the driver’s side and spun into the grill. The tractor-trailer pushed him sideways before stopping. Horn then got out and approached Thurman with a wooden club, court records say.
Thurman said he feared for his life and grabbed his pistol. He held it up in the window to show Horn he was armed, too, he said, but did not point it at Horn, according to the affidavit.
Horn then returned to his rig, and Thurman exited his vehicle through the passenger’s side and circled around the back to gain distance, he said. That’s when Horn emerged again with a gun, the affidavit states.
Thurman said Horn repeatedly threatened to kill him. He told Horn, “Please sir, don’t do it,” he said, and ran south on the freeway. Horn chased him, according to Thurman and a witness. Thurman ducked and weaved between cars to take cover as Horn pointed the gun at him. The witness called Thurman over and told Horn police were coming. The witness advised Thurman to put down his gun after Horn walked away, court records say.
Horn told investigators he was intervening in what he perceived to be a road rage incident between Thurman and the flatbed truck driver. He said he tried to put his tractor-trailer sideways in front of Thurman, and Thurman drove into the front of the tractor-trailer, the affidavit states.
Horn allegedly admitted to grabbing the wooden club afterward to hit the hood of Thurman’s vehicle. He also allegedly admitted to grabbing his gun and pursuing Thurman to “disarm him,” according to the affidavit.
