Cops: Kids watch as parents commit road-rage
One girl saw her father get shot, another saw a man point a gun at her mother's head and, police said, a third saw that same man, her own father, point the gun - frightful incidents of road rage that occurred this weekend involving unwitting child passengers.
One girl saw her father get shot, another saw a man point a gun at her mother's head and, police said, a third saw that same man, her own father, point the gun - frightful incidents of road rage that occurred this weekend involving unwitting child passengers.
Thomas Timko, 40, remains in critical condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after being shot in the head by an enraged motorist shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday.
Timko, of Lebanon, N.J., had just passed over the Walt Whitman Bridge and was traveling westbound on Interstate 76 into Philadelphia with his 8-year-old daughter when he pulled his Toyota Highlander over to the shoulder for an unknown reason, said Lt. Frank Vanore, city police spokesman.
Soon after, he merged back into traffic and engaged in an argument with another motorist near the Passyunk Avenue exit, Vanore said.
The other driver fired at least four shots at Timko's car using a .40-caliber, semiautomatic weapon, striking him once in the head, police said.
Timko's car came to a stop on the left side of the highway, Vanore said. The girl was unharmed.
He was found unconscious, slumped over the steering wheel, police said.
The shooting may have occurred between 8 and 8:45 p.m., Vanore said. Investigators are unclear of the cause of the argument or where the dispute took place on the 3.5-mile stretch between the Walt Whitman Bridge and the Passyunk Avenue exit.
"This was a violent incident and the doer is somebody who has no regard [for life]," Vanore said.
In the second incident, a 21-year-old woman driving with her 2-year-old daughter about 5:40 p.m. Saturday in Upper Darby honked at a man who allegedly ran a red light at Long Lane and Marshall Road, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.
The man, identified by police as Deaone McNeal, 24, began to follow the woman for blocks while yelling life-threatening profanities, police said.
McNeal's behavior escalated when he pulled up next to the woman in a lane of oncoming traffic and pointed at her head a .45-caliber semiautomatic gun with a mounted laser site, Chitwood said.
According to police, McNeal backed off when he saw the victim calling 9-1-1 on her cell phone.
Soon after, he was pulled over a block away from his home on Garrett Road near Bywood Avenue. Even more shocking than the extended ammunition clip that police found in McNeal's high-powered weapon, Chitwood said, was the 7-year-old child who was in his car.
The little girl- McNeal's daughter - was placed in the custody of relatives, Chitwood said.
According to police, McNeal had a license to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense that was issued by the Delaware County Sheriff's Office in January.
Chitwood said McNeal was arrested on an aggravated-assault charge in March, but the case has yet to reach disposition.
"I guarantee his legal permit is done," Chitwood said. "I'll burn it."
McNeal has been charged with recklessly endangering another person, stalking and related crimes.
He remains free after Upper Darby District Judge Harry J. Karapalides set his bail at 10 percent of $5,000.
The victim, however, remains trapped by fear.
"She's scared to death to come out of her house," Chitwood said. "She wants to move to a different neighborhood. She wants to paint her car." *
Staff writer Damon Williams contributed to this report.
