A driver accused of pointing a firearm at other motorists on Interstate 5 was arrested in Thurston County on Wednesday, after deputies tracked down a speeding white Hyundai in Olympia. Deputies recovered a firearm, ammunition and empty alcohol containers from inside the car once they got the driver stopped, according to the sheriff's account of the incident.
The case began when the Washington State Patrol notified Thurston County authorities that a driver in a white Hyundai had allegedly pointed a firearm at other drivers on Interstate 5, per the sheriff, as reported by FOX 13 Seattle. Thurston County deputies then spotted the vehicle speeding on I-5 in Olympia and moved in to catch up with it.
Traffic Stop on Olympia's West Side
Additional deputy units joined the pursuit and stopped the suspect vehicle on Olympia's west side. The driver was detained without incident, the outlet's report states. Once deputies searched the car, they recovered a firearm and ammunition, along with empty alcohol containers found inside.
The driver was then transferred into the custody of the Washington State Patrol, according to the same account. Details on the exact location of the alleged gun-pointing, how many motorists may have been threatened, and whether anyone was hurt have not been made public. The story remains developing, and Thurston County authorities have not released the driver's name, age or booking information.
Not the First Reported I-5 Gun-Pointing Case
Wednesday's arrest echoes a similar case out of Whatcom County, where 26-year-old Bailey Rae McCorkhill was booked into jail in May after allegedly pointing what appeared to be a handgun at another driver's car near the Birch Bay Lynden exit on I-5, according to bellinghamherald.com. In that case, troopers later determined the weapon was actually a BB gun, and McCorkhill surrendered after nearly four hours of negotiations with the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office. He had been awaiting trial at the time on charges from a separate February road-rage incident in which he allegedly chased and rammed another vehicle.
Road-rage incidents involving firearms have surfaced elsewhere in Washington State as well. A 2019 report from the Tri-City Herald described a Kennewick driver who said another motorist pointed a gun at him during a road-rage confrontation on Highway 240. No further details on charges or court status have been released in the Thurston County case, and this article will be updated as more information becomes available.
