Man Accused Of Pointing Gun At Driver In Road Rage Incident

BARTOW COUNTY, GA — A Tennessee man was arrested Friday evening after he allegedly pointed a firearm at driver during a road rage incident on Interstate 75 in Bartow County.

Dispatchers advised Bartow County sheriff's deputies to be on the lookout for a white Dodge Ram pickup truck around 9:47 p.m. July 20 for an incident reported on the northbound side at mile marker 288. The caller told 911 dispatchers that she had a gun "pointed at her by the male driver" of the truck.

A deputy responding to the call were able to track down the suspected truck. A traffic stop was conducted and the deputy spoke with the driver, identified as David Dewayne Bryant of Whitwell, Tennessee.

Bryant said he "showed them my gun, but I have a permit to carry a weapon." He also said the woman in the other vehicle was actually tailgating him and flashing her vehicle's high-beams. Bryant alleges the other car cut him off and "fearing that they might do something to him," he pulled out his gun and brandished it by placing it near the steering wheel. The handgun, a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, was found inside the center console. It did not have a magazine in it and no rounds were inside its chamber, the report adds.

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The driver of the other car was reached by telephone and said she was driving northbound on I-75 when a white pickup truck began tailgating her. She sped up to get away from the truck, but it pulled up beside her and "the white male driver pointed a black handgun out the window at her and got in front of her hitting his brakes several times," the report notes.

"The vehicle had pulled off near mile marker 293 like they wanted to fight with them, so she continued on," according to the report. "The vehicle was able to catch back up to them, and he pointed the gun at them again, got in front of them and continued to brake-check them. She stayed behind the vehicle until law enforcement arrived."

Bryant was charged with aggravated assault with a gun and booked into the Bartow County Jail late Friday evening. He was released on a $6,000 bond Monday afternoon.

Photo: David Dewayne Bryant. Credit: Bartow County Jail