Worcester man charged in road rage incident

LANSDALE — A Worcester man has been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged road rage incident in Towamencin Township on Monday, Jan. 27, in which he got out of his car and threatened another driver with a long metal object described by the victim as a crowbar, according to police.

Thomas K. Gaskin, 44, of the 3100 block of Skippack Pike, was arraigned Tuesday evening before District Judge Scott Palladino of Pottstown on eight criminal counts, including terroristic threats, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, recklessly endangering another person and harassment — all misdemeanors — as well as summary charges of harassment, reckless driving and care- less driving. Palladino set bail at $5,000 unsecured, and Gaskin remains free while awaiting a preliminary hearing in the case.

Police said that just before 6 a.m. on Jan. 27, a 22-year-old female reported to authorities that she was driving west on Detwiler Road when an older-model, dark-colored sedan two to three car lengths ahead of her braked abruptly, causing her to stop. The vehicles began driving again, according to police, but just before the intersection with Wambold Road, the sedan abruptly braked again despite no other traffic or obstacles in the area, and the woman was forced to brake and swerve into the opposite lane to avoid a collision.

At that point, the woman told police, a man later identified as Gaskin got out of his car and approached her driver’s side window while holding the metal object, which she believed was a crowbar, and began yelling profanities at her while demanding she get out of her car, then tapped the metal object against her window while threatening to kill her.

Police said the woman told them that fearing for her life and believing she was about to be assaulted, she put her vehicle into reverse when she saw Gaskin cross in front of her car and head for the passenger side doors, and managed to flee the area southbound on Wambold Road.

She was able to get Gaskin’s license plate number, and saw that he left the area heading north on Wambold Road, police said, and immediately called 911 to report the incident. Investigators determined the tag was not assigned to the vehicle involved in the incident, police said.

However, just before 6 a.m. on Jan. 28, a Towamencin officer observed a dark-colored sedan bearing the reported license plate number — court documents list the vehicle as a blue 1990 Mercury Topaz — traveling on Detwiler Road and conducted an investigatory stop, police said.

The officer identified the driver as Gaskin, who admitted he had been involved in an incident the previous morning but claimed it had to do with a deer that had jumped into the road, and had nothing to do with road rage, police said. Gaskin was allowed to leave after the traffic stop, although the officer said he observed a long metal object on the passenger floor of his vehicle, according to police.

Later on Tuesday morning, the woman identified Gaskin from a photo lineup as the man that had threatened her during the Monday incident, police said, and Gaskin was subsequently taken into custody and arraigned on the charges.

Gaskin is due in District Judge Harold Borek’s Lansdale courtroom on Feb. 5 for a preliminary hearing.