Truck Driver Says He "Snapped" Before Road Rage Rampage

by Jana Ritter - Published: 2/12/2016

Most truck drivers can certainly relate to the frustrations that come with the job, but very few go so far as use to launch their weapon of mass destruction in a road rage against innocent victims. On Friday morning, 50-year-old Danny Gonzalez did exactly just that when he simply decided he had enough and began running other drivers off the road.

                                                              

According to the Bullitt County Sheriff's Office (KY), their dispatch began receiving calls at about 6:30 a.m. Friday morning, reporting a semi-truck "driving erratically" and running vehicles off the road in the northbound lanes of I-65, near exit 112. The truck driver was hauling landscaping timbers and began his rampage by hitting a truck, causing it to crash into a cable barrier. Gonzalez then continued on his way, getting off at the Brooks exit and began heading west on Brooks Hill Road where he then ran a white Cadillac off the road. Unaware that the hit was intentional, the Cadillac driver attempted to alert Gonzalez that he had run him off the road, but Gonzalez responded with an intentional hit to the rear of the Cadillac, causing significant damage.

                                                              

Gonzalez left his second victim at the scene of the crash and fled north on Knob Creek Road. Police said he then turned on Goff Lane and ran over a number of street signs, then erratically drove off the roadway and into a parallel field. Fortunately, the truck became stuck and the dangerous rampage was forced to its end. At that point, a Bullitt County Deputy caught up to Gonzalez and ordered him out of the semi-truck. According to the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office, at first Gonzalez refused to comply with the deputy’s orders but he eventually cooperated and was arrested at the scene. Gonzalez is charged with wanton endangerment, criminal mischief and leaving the scene of an accident. Gonzalez told officers that he had just “snapped” and was tired of people messing with truck drivers. He also made statements claiming that he was told he had to continue to work and he did not want to.

Gonzalez is currently being held at the Bullitt County Detention Center and in addition to the current charges; the Louisville Metro Animal Services has begun an animal cruelty case against him related to a puppy that was found inside the semi-truck. LMAS says that the animal is an 8-week-old puppy, possibly a Shepherd mix and was found in very poor condition.

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