A Massachusetts man faces charges after firing gunshots near a plow vehicle while under the influence of alcohol over the weekend, authorities said.
60-year-old Bruce O'Brien of Whitman, Massachusetts is accused of firing his gun out of his SUV Saturday night in an alleged road rage incident with a plow truck driver.
Several neighbors who live on Rocky Hill Road in Plymouth say they heard the shots at about seven p.m.
Witness Kate McSorley said, "We just heard two loud popping sounds and they were not ordinary, it got our attention."
Prosecutors say O'Brien told investigators he was driving to his rental home with his wife in the passenger seat, after having a couple of glasses of wine at a local restaurant.
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Carolan Blackwood said, "Mrs. O'Brien told police that they were stuck behind a snowplow truck on Rocky Hill Road, the truck was swerving and her husband Bruce passed the plow truck, after passing the plow truck she stated that he pointed a gun out of his window and fired two shots."
No one was injured and O'Brien was arrested a short time later near the area of Route 3A and Powerhouse Road.
"He's a great guy, never been in trouble before," said O'Brien's defense attorney Jack Diamond.
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Diamond said his client fired the weapon because he was in fear and allegedly wasn't aiming the weapon at the plow truck driver.
"The plow truck was swerving at the passenger side of the vehicle where his wife was seated," said Diamond, "the shots were fired out the driver side window into the dirt near the road."
Witnesses say with several people home during the storm or even out shoveling in the early evening, an innocent person could have been struck.
"It was pretty scary thinking about somebody actually firing a gun in an open area like that where people are around," said McSorley, "It's taking road rage to another level."
O'Brien was released on $2,500 cash bail and ordered to surrender his firearms and to have no contact with the plow truck driver.
O'Brien is due back in court February 23rd.
