18 Mile Road Rage Incident on I-90 – No Arrests or Injuries

There were tense moments on I-90 just after 1:00 p.m. on Saturday as a semi truck and a pickup truck were involved in a road rage incident that began at the Wye just and finally ended up 18 miles later near Turah.

Sergeant Josh Volinkaty with the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office described what happened.

“We responded to a road rage incident between a pickup truck and a semi that went on for several miles,” said Volinkaty. “It sounds like it started at an exit when somebody failed to get over during a merge. This went back and forth with neither vehicle allowing the other to pass for several miles. At one point a gun was displayed inside one of the vehicles, but it was never pointed at anybody and no other threats were received by either party.”

Volinkaty said the vehicles traveling eastbound on I-90 were finally stopped near Turah.

“We were able to get out there and make a traffic stop. The vehicle with the gun in it and the other vehicle were stopped and we got the two drivers separated and got their statements. It ended with an informational report and no charges will be filed.”

Volinkaty said both drivers received a strong statement from law enforcement about what could have occurred in such a situation.

“We had to have a talk about decision making and problem solving on the highway, and they both admitted and understood their faults and to have better ways to handle things in the future,” he said. “It could have been assault with a weapon, if the individual had perceived that the firearm was going to be used against him and cause him injury, but in this case we only had the victim say that he observed the firearm, so that’s where we fell short of the statute being met.”

Volinkaty said the incident turned out as well as it possible could, considering the circumstances.

“We ended up obviously with no shooting, no injuries to anybody, the motoring public and all the officers were safe and we were able to get the situation diffused, so the absolute best outcome from what started off as a pretty tense call.”

It is not known which driver displayed the firearm.

No arrests were made and there were no injuries reported.