Man arrested in Elizabethtown road rage incident involving a bat, bear spray and a gun

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A man was arrested and charged after shots were fired in a road rage confrontation near Central Hardin High School, prompting a "soft lockdown" of the school Thursday afternoon.

According to a news release from Hardin County Schools, two drivers on Leitchfield Road and Ring Road got into a road rage incident with gunfire around 2:30 p.m. in front of the school.

"One of the motorists brandished a weapon and gunshots were fired. No one at CHHS was injured and the situation was quickly under control," spokesperson John Wright said in a statement.

The soft lockdown was in place for about 45 minutes, which means no one could enter or leave the building, but classes continued as normal.

Elizabethtown Police Officer John Thomas said in a news release that the incident started when a man and woman in a Ford Maverick were driving on Ring Road and were cut off by a Dodge Dart driven by Jeremy Yates, 50, of Eastview. Thomas said both cars stopped at a right light, where a verbal altercation began. During the verbal exchange, a baseball bat was displayed, and Yates sprayed the man and woman in the other car with bear spray.

Thomas said the man and woman tried to leave, but Yates followed them on Ring Road.

At another stoplight, the man reportedly threw a ceramic tile at Yates' car and then drove away. Yates continued to follow them, making several turns before cutting them off near the high school.

Police said Yates then got out of his car, armed with a gun, and the man tried to get away again, hitting Yates' car before driving away. That's when Yates fired two shots from his gun. Thomas said one round hit the man's car and the other round hit the rear window, passing between the man and woman, hitting the windshield.

Thomas said no one was injured.

Yates was arrested and charged with two counts of wanton endangerment and discharge of a firearm.

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