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SPANISH FORK — A road rage incident in Spanish Fork Canyon early Monday led to multiple shots being fired, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
About 12:40 a.m., troopers responded to a report of reckless driving on U.S. 6 near the mouth of the canyon involving a sedan and a semitruck.
"A white sedan was reportedly driving on the shoulder and cutting off vehicles. The facts of this incident are still under investigation, but it is believed that the occupants of the sedan brandished a weapon at a semi," the UHP said in a statement.
When that happened, the semitruck driver "reported using" his own gun, troopers said.
"He reported that the driver of the car pulled out a gun and fired shots at him, and that he took out his gun and fired shots back," according to a police booking affidavit.
"Agents interviewed (the semitruck driver) who stated he was not certain it was a firearm possessed by the occupant of the white sedan, but that he saw the window roll down, something extend from the window, and heard a loud pop sound. He stated he then defensively pulled out his firearm and fired warning shots."
Troopers looked at the man's cab and found "two impacts consistent in appearance with a bullet strike on the inside area the handrail," the affidavit states. The semitruck driver, however, said those marks may have been caused by his own shots.
"He stated that he did not aim at the other vehicle, but fired warning shots back up toward the mountain," according to the affidavit.
The sedan was located a short time later on I-15 in Utah County. It was stopped near the Point of the Mountain by UHP troopers, Utah County sheriff's deputies and other officers from local agencies. The driver, Angel Nuno, 23, of Texas, told troopers they were driving from Texas to Oregon and believed the semitrailer driver got too close to them, according to the affidavit.
Nuno said "he got upset by the truck driving so close behind them. He explained that he flashed a BB gun at the truck driver. He said that the BB gun had an orange tip on it. He explained that the gun did not have anything loaded in it. He explained that his front passenger was angry and may have thrown something at the truck driver, but he did not know for sure," the arrest report states.
Nuno claims the semi driver then fired five rounds at them.
A passenger told troopers that the semitruck had cut them off and that Nuno was upset about it.
Nuno was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of threatening to use a weapon in a fight, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license. The semitruck driver was not arrested but potential charges against him will be screened by the Utah County Attorney's Office, according to the UHP.
As of Monday, troopers were still trying to determine exactly how many shots were fired and by whom.
