Bucks County teen charged with shooting at driver during I-295 road rage incident
Joseph Montoya fired a gun at another driver because he was angry the man had been tailgating him, police said.
A Levittown teen, upset that another driver was tailgating him on I-295 earlier this month, pointed a handgun at the man and fired once, striking his car, investigators said Tuesday.
Joseph Montoya, 18, was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy, and related crimes in the June 12 alleged road rage incident.
He was charged alongside a 16-year-old Croydon boy who was driving the Subaru Forester they were riding in, according to the affidavit of probable cause for their arrests.
Montoya remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of 10% of $400,000 bail. His attorney, Michael Parlow, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The shooting took place between the Langhorne and Middletown Township exits of the highway, the affidavit said.
The victim told Pennsylvania State Police troopers that as he was driving westbound on I-295 just before 1 a.m., he approached two cars that were driving side by side, blocking the highway, the affidavit said. When the man flashed his high beams at the car in the right lane, it sped up, and he drove past the vehicle in the left lane.
Inside that vehicle were two teenagers, both wearing ski masks and staring at the driver, the affidavit said. The teen in the passenger seat, pointed a “blue laser” mounted on a silver handgun at the man’s head, and then fired the gun once, striking the back of his car.
The man slowed down, allowing the other vehicle to pass. He gave the car’s license plate number to state police, who issued a bulletin for the Subaru Forester.
Not long after, police in Bristol Township stopped the car and found the 16-year-old driver inside, alone. He did not have a valid driver’s license and was taken into custody.
The teen’s mother later told troopers that she had not given him permission to take her vehicle, and had awakened to find both the car and her son missing, the affidavit said.
In an interview with investigators, the teen identified Montoya as the shooter and said that he often carries a gun. The two had been on a “late-night drive” when Montoya became angry at the victim for tailgating them and shot his car in response, according to the affidavit.
After the shooting, the teen dropped Montoya off at his home in Levittown and was arrested on his way back to Croydon.
Both suspects are scheduled to appear before a district judge for a preliminary hearing June 26.