Father and son arrested after outburst of aggression against truck driver who honked

A father and son were arrested in southeastern Kentucky on Friday afternoon following a road rage incident in which shots were fired.

Laurel County Sheriff’s Deputy Nate Bishop was investigating an unrelated accident about 10 miles south of London when he heard screaming around 3:20 p.m. and “ran toward the commotion,” according to a news release from the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.

Two vehicles were stopped in front of a semi-truck at the intersection of Adams Road and Ky. 770. Bishop said Jacob Harness, the driver of the vehicle directly in front of the semi-truck, got out and ran back toward the semi-truck when it also got out.

Harness, 26, grabbed the truck driver by his shirt and threw him to the ground, the press release said.

At about the same time, the deputy said, he saw 53-year-old James Harness exit another vehicle that had stopped at the intersection in front of Jacob Harness’s vehicle and the semi-truck. Bishop said James Harness, Jacob Harness’s father, grabbed a gun from his trunk and ran toward the altercation between his son and the truck driver.

According to the sheriff’s office, James Harness “fired numerous shots” before Bishop took him into custody and disarmed him using voice commands.

The truck driver is not believed to have been seriously injured. Bishop said he heard the truck driver honk his horn once before the altercation.

James Harness and Jacob Harness were taken to the Laurel County Correctional Center.

James Harness of Sardinia, Ohio, was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree disorderly conduct. Jacob Harness of Cincinnati was charged with fourth-degree assault.