Different level of road rage
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We have often voiced alarm in this space at road-rage incidents, and we have advised there is no good reason why almost anyone should be driving around with a gun in one’s car. An article in Wednesday’s newspaper was especially disturbing in that it represents the trifecta of bad behavior by motorists.
A South Strabane Township resident, Doc Kelly Jones Jr., was arrested following a confrontation on Interstate 79 southbound, just south of the Laboratory exit. Jones is accused of flashing the high beams of his vehicle at other motorists to get their attention, and when a van pulled off the road and stopped, Jones pulled in front of it and approached the occupants, pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at them. A man and his 16-year-old son reportedly got out of the van and tried to tell Jones they had done nothing wrong. Jones allegedly pushed the boy into the front of the van and slugged the man in the face, and continued to hold the gun on them.
When state police arrived at the scene, they found in Kelly’s vehicle a glass with an alcoholic drink in it, empty liquor bottles and beer cans, full and empty. Oh, and they also found Kelly’s 14-year-old son.
The charges are serious: threatening people with a deadly weapon, assault and drunk driving. If the accusations against Kelly are true, he not only endangered his child but exposed him to truly reprehensible behavior.
That Jones is free after posting $5,000 bond is not reassuring news. We await with interest the results of his preliminary hearing Jan. 30.
If he’s found guilty, we hope the punishment fits the crimes.