Semi Driver Arrested and Charged After Road Rage Incident

Turner Turnpike

An 18-wheeler refused to let other cars pass and then refused to pull over.

It started around 10 p.m. Wednesday night on the Turner Turnpike. The semi-truck veered back and forth aggressively on its way from Tulsa to Oklahoma City.

Another driver picked up a camera and started recording. He had to keep recording for nearly an hour. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said they received numerous calls about the big rig not letting people pass. This video, sent by a viewer, shows it clearly.

Repeatedly, the semi swerves to block the path of vehicles behind him, nearly hitting them.

“He just cut off another truck! Whoa, look at this! Oh, he almost hit him!” the man shooting the video said. “I’m trying to capture this on the video to keep this guy from ever driving an 18-wheeler again.”

When troopers arrived on the scene, the truck refused to stop. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the driver, Gilberto Ortiz of California, called dispatch and said he wasn’t going to pull over.

Eventually, troopers used stop sticks to blow out the truck’s tire and force it to stop. The video shows troopers arresting Ortiz at gunpoint.

OHP said Ortiz had swallowed meth and they think that likely contributed to his driving. He was taken to a hospital and then to the Lincoln County Jail.