ENCINITAS, Calif. (KGTV) - A Tesla driver says a highway trip turned scary when found himself face to face with a driver holding what appeared to be a gun.
Tom, a 20-year-old college student, says he was driving his parents' Tesla around noon Tuesday when he turned onto the Manchester Avenue on-ramp to southbound Interstate 5.
“The pickup truck almost hits me," he said. "I honk my horn and switch lanes to avoid hitting him."
As Tom merged onto I-5, back and side cameras show the Toyota Tacoma behind him, veering several lanes to the left, before getting back behind him.
“And then I see him lift his arm up and point something … and then I looked a little harder," Tom said. "Oh, that looks like the front end of a gun."
Tom said he sped up, got off at the next exit, and called 911, before looking at the video.
In that video, when the truck swings to the side, you can see the driver is pointing something through the passenger window. Tom has no doubt what that was.
“Pretty scary seeing a gun pointed out at you,” Tom said.
Moments after the driver is seen pointing something, a car comes between the two vehicles, and the truck ends up behind the Tesla. Tom believes that car unwittingly helped prevent a shooting.
“If someone's willing to point a gun at you, and drive through traffic while doing it—all over you honking at them—it’s a pretty spooky situation,” said Tom.
Tom turned over the video to the California Highway Patrol, including the license plate. Because it's an active investigation, ABC 10News is not releasing the license plate number. Tom is hoping his video will help get the driver off the roads.
"Next time, if he has a clearer shot, maybe he would be willing to take that shot,” Tom said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to the CHP’s Oceanside office at 760-643-3400.
