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Armed man threatens tow truck driver
FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.
AUBURNDALE, Fla. - For tow truck drivers, dealing with angry people comes with the territory.
But for one driver in Polk County, being chased down and having a gun pulled on him while on the road was on another level entirely.
On March 29, shortly before 9 PM, a driver for Bolton's Towing Service in Winter Haven was heading down Highway 92 into Lake Alfred from Auburndale.
"When he stopped at the red light in Lake Alfred the passenger jumped out of the passenger window with a gun. He ran up to the truck and beat the window at the driver," said owner, Tyler Bolton.
The Lake Alfred Police Department is searching for a man who pulled a gun on a tow truck driver.
The driver took off to get away, and the suspect chased after him. However, once the driver got to the Auburndale Police Department, the suspect gave up.
Bolton says the frightening experience has left the truck driver fearful and anxious.
"It's making it hard for him to go out every day to do what he does," said Bolton. "Not sure if this person is targeting him or the truck or the company. We have no clue."
Police say it's unclear at this point what set the suspect off because it doesn't appear the tow truck driver provoked him in any way.
"Running up to somebody's vehicle armed or unarmed in today's world you may be a bit surprised that somebody may be armed too," said Chief Art Bodenheimer. "Whatever the situation that happened on the roadway, I don't know it meets any criteria that we need to get guns out and start threatening anybody."
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Police say they're still working to identify the vehicle involved and are working to get more video surveillance footage.
If caught, the suspect is likely to face a charge of felonious aggravated assault at the very least.
Bolton wants the suspect to be held accountable.
"It's obnoxious and there's zero care for anybody else's life," said Bolton. "To be honest with a different person in that truck, it may not have ended so well for that person that pulled the gun."
The towing company is offering a $1,500 dollar reward for any information that leads to an arrest.
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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Carla Bayron.
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