Crime & Safety

New England Road Rage? Plow Shot At During Blizzard

Bruce O'Brien, arraigned Monday, told police he "feared for his life" after a plow almost hit him in Plymouth during Winter Storm Jonas.


PLYMOUTH, MA — A Plymouth plow driver was shot at in a road rage incident Saturday during the height of Winter Storm Jonas.

Bruce O’Brien, 60, of Whitman, shot at the plow driver on Rocky Hill Road at about 7 p.m. during blizzard conditions, police said. He was charged with assault, disorderly conduct, carrying a gun while intoxicated, and firing a gun within 500 feet of a building.

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The gun was a .45-caliber pistol, police said.

“O’Brien told police that while attempting to pass and go around a plow, the driver veered his plow into the passenger side of the Jeep, nearly striking the Jeep,” Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said in a statement. “He feared for his life and fired three shots from his black Springfield .45 ... out the window at the plow driver.”

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Police said neighbors heard the gunfire and called for help. Officers soon pulled over O’Brien’s black Jeep Cherokee and said they found three spent shell casings inside. He was placed under arrest.

The bullets didn’t hit the plow itself, police said.

O’Brien was arraigned Monday and held on $2,500 bail.


The incident happened as Plymouth was being buried by Winter Storm Jonas, which dropped nearly a foot of snow on town and knocked out power to thousands in the region.

Winter Storm Jonas Hits Plymouth

Photo: Barbara Heins

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