A tractor-trailer driver was arrested in North Carolina after deputies say he fired a BB gun at another vehicle during a road rage incident on Interstate 40. The incident happened in Haywood County on March 10 and left the rear window of a passenger vehicle shattered. Deputies identified the driver as 52-year-old Billy Franklin Swaim of Wilkes County and took him into custody.
How the Case Came Together
The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office says deputies first responded to a disturbance call involving vehicles on I-40. The driver who reported the incident met deputies at Exit 37 after leaving the highway, describing the confrontation and providing a description of the tractor-trailer involved. When deputies examined the reporting driver’s vehicle, they found the rear window shattered in a way investigators say was consistent with a projectile fired from a BB gun, and the driver believed the shot came from the tractor-trailer during the road rage encounter.
Armed with the vehicle description, law enforcement began searching for the truck. North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers located it a short time later and stopped it at a weigh station, detaining the driver until Haywood County deputies arrived to take over the investigation.
A BB Gun Built to Look Like a Real Handgun
Deputies say they took Swaim into custody at the weigh station and seized the weapon believed to have caused the damage, a black CO2-powered BB pistol designed to resemble a Glock handgun. Investigators later photographed the BB pistol next to an actual Glock 45 to show just how closely the two resembled each other, noting the replica-style design made the BB gun visually difficult to distinguish from a real firearm at a glance. The pistol was taken into evidence as part of the case.
The Charges Swaim Now Faces
The sheriff’s office confirmed Swaim was transported to the Haywood County Detention Center and charged with misdemeanor going armed to the terror of the people and misdemeanor injury to personal property. It’s worth noting these are charges at this stage, and Swaim is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in court. He was held on a $5,000 secured bond as the case moves through the legal process.
The going-armed charge applies when a weapon is used or displayed in a way that causes fear or alarm to others in public, and authorities say it reflects the risk created when a weapon comes into play during a confrontation on a public roadway. The injury-to-property charge stems directly from the shattered rear window, which investigators say lines up with damage from the recovered BB pistol.
Why This Kind of Incident Is More Dangerous Than It Sounds
No injuries were reported, but deputies say the incident created a genuinely dangerous scenario for everyone on the interstate. A projectile striking a vehicle at highway speed can startle a driver into losing control or create a sudden hazard for surrounding traffic, and broken glass inside a moving vehicle is its own immediate risk for occupants and nearby drivers alike. Road rage incidents involving any kind of weapon escalate quickly on highways where vehicles are moving fast and packed close together, which is exactly the scenario investigators say played out here.
How Quick Reporting Helped Crack the Case
Officials credit the driver’s quick decision to meet deputies and describe the tractor-trailer as the key factor in locating the suspect vehicle so fast, combined with a coordinated response between the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office and North Carolina State Highway Patrol. That collaboration let troopers intercept the truck at a weigh station before the situation could escalate further along a busy interstate corridor.
The case remains active with the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office as it moves through the court system, with Swaim currently facing the misdemeanor going-armed and property-damage charges tied to the interstate incident.