Man turns self in, charged following Delaware road rage incident

NEWARK, Delaware (WPVI) -- A Delaware man has been arrested in connection with a road rage shooting.

Authorities said Joseph Bartell, 34, surrendered and is now charged with aggravated menacing, reckless endangering and criminal mischief.

The incident happened Monday morning near South Chapel Road and Peoples Drive in Newark.

The bullet didn't injure anyone, but it shattered the rear passenger window of a pickup truck leaving the owner rattled.

"It happened so fast, I didn't know how to react," said Giovany Perez, 22.

Hours after the incident, Perez said he was still shaken up.

He was driving to work around 10 a.m. when a driver along his morning commute became frustrated and impatient at a merging lane.

"I was in the right lane and had to merge to the left, and one car didn't want to let me merge. Everyone was taking turns merging, and when it was my turn he tapped my bumper," said Perez. "When the lanes came to an opening, to two lanes and he came around me, that's when it happened."

Perez says he heard a loud noise and didn't realize what happened until he saw his rear window was shattered.

"I looked at my window and it was shattered, I looked at him and he was rolling his window back up and as he was doing that he was putting his gun down. It caught me by surprise a bit," said Perez.

He attempted to follow the vehicle to try and get a description for police but was instructed to pull over by a 911 dispatcher along Route 896 in Glasgow.

Perez says he is thankful for his life.

"I don't know if he was trying to scare me or what it was, but at the end of the day, I could have had my little brother in back, I could have had somebody with me. God forbid somebody would have got hit," said Perez. "At the end of the day, I'm glad I'm here."

Perez, who owns his own asphalt business says the incident caused him to miss a day of work. He's currently working to replace his window.