Man surrenders in road rage incident

A Montgomery County man has surrendered to state police in the shooting of a woman during an apparent road rage incident on Route 422 in Upper Providence Township, police said.

John A. Yannarell, 50, of Gilbertsville, surrendered "without incident" this afternoon in downtown Norristown, said Trooper Denea L. Durham, a State Police spokeswoman.

Durham said the victim, who has not been identified by police, called 911 at 7:17 a.m. after seeing a white, middle-aged man with light hair driving a 2008 silver Buick Lucerne erratically on the heavily traveled highway.

Minutes later, the woman felt "a jolt or a bump and thought someone has sideswiped her," Durham said. It was only after the woman saw blood that she realized she had been shot, Durham said.

The woman pulled her black Ford Focus to the side of the road and called 911 again, providing details of the other vehicle, including a tag number, Durham said.

The woman sustained two non-life-threatening gunshot wounds - one in the leg and one in the elbow - but Durham said it was not clear whether one or two shots were fired.

The victim was transported by helicopter to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where Durham said she was in stable condition.

She said police considered the operator of the car "a person of interest" and were trying to locate him. At the time, she said police did not know whether the owner and operator were the same person.

James L. Oliver, an attorney who has represented Yannarell in some civil cases, said he received two phone calls this afternoon from police while he was out of his office in Norristown.

He said the officers told him that Yannarell wanted to talk to Oliver; however, Oliver said he has been unable to connect with either of the officers and just left voicemails.

"I don't know anything about the case," he said, adding that he's simply trying to make contact with Yannarell.

Court records show that Yannarell has been cited eight times since 2002 for disregarding a traffic light or stop sign in Montgomery, Delaware or Chester County. He pleaded guilty in seven of the cases and was found guilty in the other. He was also cited for speeding in 2005 in Montgomery County.

Traffic was slowed through the area about 2 1/2 hours while police investigated the shooting.

State Police ask that any motorists who might have witnessed the shooting or the events preceeding it to call 215-560-6199.